Leeds United academy head to Salford City looking to pile EFL Trophy pressure on Oldham Athletic

The Whites make the short trip to Moor Lane in Group B knowing that picking up points this evening will put pressure on Oldham Athletic, who will play out their final group game against Tranmere Rovers next week.

Leeds head into tonight's fixture third on goal difference alone behind the second-placed Latics - who they beat 3-2 in a thriller at Boundary Park last month.

Salford remain bottom of the group, having lost both of their games in the tournament so far while Tranmere are top with six points.

United and Oldham have both acquired three points with one victory and one defeat each though Keith Curle's men are two goals better off, which sees them sit second ahead of the final round of fixtures with the top two progressing into the knockout rounds.

Mark Jackson's youngsters must now avoid defeat against Salford to keep hopes of earning a spot in the next round alive otherwise they will exit the competition at the same stage as last season.

Should Leeds come away with a victory or draw - with a penalty shootout bonus point also available in the event of a tie at the end of 90 minutes - Oldham will need to match or better their result to knock out the Thorp Arch outfit.

Leeds take on the Ammies - who're currently 19th in League Two - without a victory in five games across all competitions at Under-23s level and will be hoping a return to form can help them go one step further than last year.

"As a group we need to stop conceding as many goals as we do," Jackson told the YEP ahead of tonight's crunch clash.

"We need to sharpen up conceding chances and we need to start winning games. It's important. We talk about this team being a development team, which is really important and that is a priority, but part of developing is learning how to win.

"This group needs to get back to winning ways. We wanted to play against the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. These are the teams we're playing against now, so we need to go show we can compete not just playing in patches but winning games as well."

Leeds will be hoping to have the likes of Joe Geldhardt, Crysencio Summerville, Charlie Cresswell and Cody Drameh available for selection after their recent first team exploits under Marcelo Bielsa.

Kick-off in Lancashire takes place at 7pm and supporters can buy tickets in advance here.