Leeds United kick off their Carabao Cup journey with a First-Round tie at home to fellow Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening.

Daniel Farke’s side will be keen to bounce back after being held to an opening day league draw against Portsmouth last weekend.

Pascal Struijk’s composed penalty got the ball rolling for the Whites, but Portsmouth fought back to go into the break a goal to the good.

Willy Gnonto’s emphatic finish levelled things up in the second half, before the visitors looked to have snatched the three points with a late penalty, until Brenden Aaronson’s last gasp equaliser levelled it up at the death.

Last time round in the competition, the Whites began with a 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Elland Road, before bowing out in the second round after defeat on penalties against Salford City.

Michael Carrick’s Boro kicked off their season with a narrow victory against Swansea City at the Riverside Stadium, courtesy of Emmanuel Latte Lath’s first-half penalty on Teesside.

The Carabao Cup proved to be an enjoyable competition for Boro last term, eventually reaching the semi-finals where they would meet Premier League side Chelsea.

After beating the London outfit 1-0 on home soil in the first leg, the return fixture would prove to be one too many for Middlesbrough, falling to a 6-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea progressed to the final.

The last time the sides met was a thrilling encounter in the North East as Leeds came out on top in a seven-goal thriller at the Riverside, with Willy Gnonto and Patrick Bamford amongst the goals in a 4-3 victory.

The match will also see the return of club icon Luke Ayling to Elland Road, after the full-back penned a deal with the Teessiders following his departure from the club.

Ayling featured over 250 times for the Whites after his 2016 switch from Bristol City, earning promotion to the Premier League in the 2019/20 season, and going on to star in the top-flight.

The action from Elland Road gets underway at 8pm.

Bamford on target last time against Boro:

How to watch:

The match is available for monthly audio subscribers. Studio build up with Emma Jones and Michael Bridges starts from 7:30pm, before worldwide live audio commentary with Bryn Law and club legend Tony Dorigo. Subscriptions include audio coverage of all first team matches and full match replays, as well as live video coverage of Under-21s matches. Subscribe HERE.

Supporters can also follow all the updates live on leedsunited.com with our online blog throughout the match.

The match has also been selected for live television coverage within the UK, on Sky Sports. For further information on how to watch the game across the rest of the world, please see our ‘How to Watch’ guide on leedsunited.com, ahead of kick-off!

Important supporter information:

Discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable and you could be breaking the law. The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.

To report an incident, text LEEDS along with any relevant information including ticket details, your name and description of an incident to 60006. You will then receive an automated response which means that your report has been logged and will then be looked into.

Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, tragedy chanting, fans entering the pitch, the use of pyros and throwing objects.

Please note, for this fixture, home supporters located in the South Stand Lower areas FA1, FA2 and FA3 will enter the stadium via Entrance 13 and not Entrance 15.

Please note, children under the age of 2 years will not be permitted entry into the ground due to Health and Safety reasons. Ticket holders aged 2 to 16 years must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or above. The adult must be seated adjacent to the child. Unaccompanied children under the age of 16 years will not be admitted into the stadium.

Bags larger than A4 in size will not be permitted. Unfortunately, there is no luggage storage facility at Elland Road.

What has Daniel Farke said ahead of the match?

Head-to-head:

Wins: 42

Draws: 29

Losses: 32

2023/24 Carabao Cup:

Leeds: Second Round

Middlesbrough: Semi-final

Officials:

Referee - Anthony Backhouse

Assistant Referees - Paul Hodskinson, Mark Dwyer

Fourth Official - Martin Woods