Alright, crunch time. Prospective giant-killers Hereford United head to Elland Road tonight in the hopes of adding another big-name notch to their belts, and it will be up to a dramatically weakened Leeds team to stop them.

In Midfield, Leeds are down a host of players: Jonathon Douglas and David Prutton are serving one-match suspensions for five yellow cards each, while Filipe Da Costa is in the middle of a three-match ban after being sent off in Leeds’s 2-1 defeat to Bury in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last week. Ian Westlake is out with a broken toe, while Tore Andre Flo is out with a broken foot.

Midifielder Radostin Kishishev and loan striker Mark De Vries aren’t eligible to play since neither was at Leeds when Hereford held the team to a draw earlier this month. The former will only be able to play in the FA Cup if Leeds qualify for the second round with a win tonight.

Shaun Derry has left Leeds on a loan deal to Crystal Palace after Dennis Wise decided that he needs more first-team action in order to regain match fitness for Leeds, and Alan Thompson, although healthy again, still needs to regain match fitness and will probably be on the bench.

On the plus side, Leeds can call on both Jermaine Beckford and Tresor Kandol up front, Seb Carole in the midfield, and all of their first-choice defensive lineup. Hopefully that will be enough to keep them in the FA Cup for another round.

Leeds are massive favourites to win, with the odds clocking in at 8/13 for a Leeds win, 23/10 for a draw, and 4/1 on a Hereford upset. I think you’d be wrong to discount Hereford completely, however: their manager, Graham Turner, has been at the helm for over ten years and invested his own money to keep the team afloat, and the passion for this game on the Hereford side will be incredible. An upset is definitely on the cards, and I personally wouldn’t bet against Hereford. Leeds will probably field a close-to-full-strength side, and Wise’s lads will have to raise their game to stop a Hereford side who are going to want to add to their legend by smashing Leeds tonight.

Look out for a full match report after the game.

The Venue
First obstacle: the stadium is small, old, and largely made up of temporary buildings. Leeds are likely to play before a tough home crowd and a small, probably wet group of travelling supporters (the away supporter’s area is uncovered and temporary. Lovely.) It’s also a long way away from Leeds, meaning a long bus journey to get there. The local pub is apparently pretty good, though.

The Teams
Leeds are without strikers Tore Andre Flo and Leon Constantine, although the latter will probably be fit again next week. Flo just had surgery, and is looking at at least another month out of the squad. Jonathon Douglas somehow survived international duty for Northern Ireland, where he came off the bench for 16 minutes in matches against Germany and Cyprus. As for the starting eleven:
Goalkeeper: Casper Ankergen. League One Player of the Month for last month – is there another choice for Wise?
Defence: Hasn’t changed much all season and probably won’t change much tomorrow. Last week’s lineup was Frazer Richardson, Matt Heath, Rui Marques, and Jamie Clapham.
Midfield: Still the only part of the Leeds lineup that’s not an easy selection. Wise played David Prutton, Andy Hughes, Alan Thompson, and Sebastien Carole against Leyton Orient last weekend, but Felipe da Costa and Ian Westlake are both fit and in reasonable form. Carole has improved dramatically over last season, and is guaranteed to start; I’d personally start with Felipe da Costa over David Prutton, but alas, I’m not the manager. Alan Thompson is out with a hamstring injury, so he’ll be replaced by Jonathan Douglas, who’ll also take the Captain’s armband.
Strikers: Jermaine Beckford and Tresor Kandol. Who else? They’re on fire together this season, even if Kandol did demonstrate his complete inability to take a penalty last week. Still, he just signed a new contract, so it’s not all bad. One of the two loanee strikers, Mark de Vries and Wayne Andrews, will probably be on the bench, but with Leon Constantine almost back to fitness and Tore Andre Flo only a month away from a comeback, they probably won’t stay at Elland Road after their loans expire at the end of the month.

As far as Brighton are concerned, striker Dean Cox is suspended and midfielder George O’Callaghan will probably be out with a hamstring injury. This is League One, so you can be forgiven for not caring all that much, just as I can be forgiven for knowing nothing about either them or the rest of the Brighton squad. Brighton currently sit in eighth place in League One with 17 points, 3 ahead of Leeds. A Leeds win will put the two teams in the same spot in the table, with Leeds dramatically ahead on goal difference.

And that’s the lot. Saturday is probably the best chance Leeds have to screw up this season, but hopefully we’ll leave with a decisive victory. Or, failing that, a lucky draw.