Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side take on Sky Bet League One outfit, Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday evening (7.45pm) in the Carabao Cup.

Elland Road is set to host another capacity crowd, with fans selling out the Round Two clash in order to see the Whites back on home turf for the second time in four days.

Both teams were in action over the weekend in their respective league structures, neither of them taking three points. Leeds played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Everton and Crewe suffered defeat at home to Accrington Stanley.

This will be the first outing in the cup this season for Bielsa’s side, whereas David Artell oversaw The Railwaymen’s progress into Round Two when they travelled away from home in early August, beating Hartlepool courtesy of a Callum Ainley goal.

The two teams first met each other in 1994, also in the cup, but not this one. Leeds won 3-1 that day in the FA Cup and since then, the two sides have met a further eight times. Tuesday’s clash will be the first meeting in 12 years, following home and away United victories in the 2008/09 League One campaign.

The winner of Tuesday night’s tie will go into Round Three, which will be played the week commencing 20th September, 2021. The draw for the next round will take place after the conclusion of Wednesday night’s clashes, live on Sky Sports.

Manager/head coach:

Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa

Crewe: David Artell

What Marcelo Bielsa said:

“Tonight, we have the opportunity to earn our first win of the season against Crewe Alexandra. It’s important to treat every competition and opponent with the utmost respect and we ultimately want to win the game and progress into the next round.”



Top scorer (all competitions):

Leeds: Luke Ayling, Mateusz Klich, Raphinha (1)

Crewe: Mikael Mandron, Callum Ainley (1)

Head to head

Leeds: 5

Draw: 2

Crewe: 2

Best ever League Cup / Carabao Cup finish:

Leeds: Winners, 1968.

Crewe: Round Three, most recently 08/09.

Last win against Crewe:

21st March, 2009

League One

Crewe Alexandra 2

Leeds United 3

Team news:

Marcelo Bielsa will have just about a full squad to choose from ahead of Tuesday night’s cup clash. The Whites head coach saw his side have an intense and tough battle against Everton at Elland Road on Sunday so may opt to make some changes, but he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game.

Crewe will be without Luke Offord on Tuesday evening, as the defender is suspended following a red card at the weekend. Chris Long, Owen Dale, Will Jaaskelainen, Callum McFadzean and Donervon Daniels will be assessed prior to the game to see if they can be involved.

Officials

Referee – Benjamin Speedie

Assistant Referee 1 – Christopher Ward

Assistant Referee 2 – Helen Edwards

Fourth Official – Andrew Kitchen

The key battle

Jamie Shackleton vs Luke Murphy

If both selected on the night, the midfield battle will be key throughout in what will be a cup tie to stay focused in. Jamie Shackleton’s qualities in a number of areas will see him occupy different places across the pitch throughout the match, and stopping the well-known abilities of Luke Murphy at the heart of the Alex midfield may well prove pivotal in denying the visitors any opportunities on goal.



Latest odds

Leeds: 1/4

Draw: 9/2

Crewe: 10/1

How to watch

The match has not been selected for live UK broadcast. Match commentary is available via LUTV.