Leeds United fans in the Transfer Tavern were stunned into silence over the weekend after seeing their side lose their unbeaten start to the Championship season.

Thomas Christiansen, who replaced Garry Monk over the summer, led the team to five wins from their opening seven league matches, with draws in the other two propelling the Yorkshire giants to top spot in the second tier, and giving our resident Whites supporters much hope ahead of the remainder of the campaign.

However, their optimism was somewhat dashed over the weekend as Christiansen’s men went down 1-0 at newly-promoted Millwall and, although they remain in top spot in the division, it serves as a reminder of how difficult it will be for Leeds to earn promotion and thus return to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

Nonetheless, their attentions turn to their Carabao Cup clash with Burnley on Tuesday night at Turf Moor, which will see the second tier side come up against former striker Chris Wood, who swapped Yorkshire for Lancashire last month in a reported £15 million deal.

And his presence up front for Sean Dyche’s men will give the Leeds backline much to think about over the course of the 90 minutes, and as such here are THREE Whites stars who will have to step it up to thwart the New Zealand international on Tuesday night…

Andy Lonergan

Andy Lonergan is in line for his second Leeds debut against Burnley on Tuesday night, over five years since his last appearance for the Yorkshire giants.

The 33-year-old returned to Elland Road during the summer on a free transfer, having spent time at Wolves in the previous campaign, yet he has been unable to displace summer signing Felix Wiedwald from Christiansen’s starting eleven.

Yet, Lonergan is likely to deputise between the sticks at Turf Moor tomorrow, and he will have to be at his best in terms of both shot-stopping and penalty box presence to thwart former striker Wood, who is seeking his third goal since joining the Clarets last month.

Conor Shaughnessy

It has been quite the few months for defender Conor Shaughnessy, who has become a key member of the squad at Leeds despite never appearing for the club prior to this season.

The young Irishman came up through the ranks at Reading but didn’t earn a first-team appearance for the Royals, and had to wait until last month for his senior debut, coming in Leeds’ 3-2 win at Bolton on the opening day.

And he has since gone from strength to strength with four starts in all competitions, two in the Carabao Cup, and he’ll likely get the nod again such is the Whites’ defensive problems.

And Shaughnessy will know that he’ll have to perform at a high level both aerially and on the ground against Wood, whose all-round abilities as a striker are likely to seriously test the inexperienced 21-year-old on Tuesday.

Luke Ayling

Defender Luke Ayling has started all ten of Leeds’ matches in all competitions this season, and looks set for number 11 on Tuesday night.

The 26-year-old moved to Elland Road only last year and missed just four Championship matches last term, with his high level consistency and overall efforts in the Leeds backline keeping him a firm fixture in Christiansen’s team this term as well.

And he’ll likely be moved to centre-back tomorrow given the Whites’ recent defensive crisis, giving him the chance to match up against Wood, whom he saw score 27 times for Leeds last season before earning a move to Burnley last month.

The striker’s strengths will be well-known to Ayling, as will the defender’s weaknesses to Wood, so whichever of the two can exploit the other’s shortcomings could have a big influence on proceedings at Turf Moor on Tuesday.