Poyet - can claim another three points.
SAME AGAIN SEAGULLS
By Mike Holden
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Same again lads.
That will be the message from Gus Poyet when he sends his Brighton players out to face the runaway league leaders at the Withdean on Saturday.
They were superb in their calculated dismantling of Southampton a week ago and though Leeds are unlikely to suffer from the same level of complacency and be quite so accommodating at the back, a repeat performance from the Seagulls might still be enough to nick another three points.
Normally, we wouldn't pay much attention to the evidence provided in one game - and especially not a live televised game - but it's apparent that Albion have possessed a sprinkling of quality all along.
The players have probably suffered from a lack of innovation and imagination on the training ground and now Poyet will be delivering those qualities in spades.
Suddenly, Brighton are no longer just another League One team. Now they have an identity that is not hell-bent on treading water until the new stadium opens at Falmer and they could thrive on the immediate injection of drive and ambition that the Uruguayan will provide.
There was something reassuring about their routine 2-0 FA Cup win over Wycombe in midweek, particularly when in place it in direct contrast with the bonkers 4-4 draw at Adams Park in the original match.
It's not often we take the decision to oppose Leeds nowadays but we've been pretty justified in doing so on the two previous occasions when we've taken the plunge against them this season.
The Whites rode their luck to escape with a goalless draw at Southend in September when we backed the Shrimpers on the draw-no-bet market at 2/1 only to see Lee Barnard miss a penalty midway through the second half.
But we got it right at the second time of asking when backing Millwall at 21/10 a month ago and this game falls into exactly the same high-risk category for Simon Grayson's men as those previous two missions.
Elsewhere, there's not a great deal to get too excited about.
We do fancy Southampton to bounce back at 6/4 against Norwich because the price indicates the Canaries are the better team when you take away home advantage but we're not convinced that's the case at all.
There would have been no hesitation at 13/8 but we'll put the brakes on in respect of the improvements made by Paul Lambert from a defensive point of view in recent weeks.
The Canaries have kept seven clean sheets in their last 10 outings and though they've faced some pretty mediocre opposition during that spell, it's enough to provoke second thoughts and keep the powder dry in this instance.
Preview posted at 1730GMT on 19/11/2009
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