United boss Gary McAllister has doubts over the fitness of David Prutton and Enoch Showunmi but will field a strong line-up against a team hammered 6-0 by Dagenham and Redbridge in their League Two opener.

Leeds began their League One campaign with an impressive 2-1 victory at Scunthorpe United and McAllister has no plans for a drop in intensity at the Deva Stadium where Chester will attempt to recover from their humiliating loss at the weekend.

United, under Dennis Wise, lost to Premier League outfit Portsmouth in the second round of last year's Carling Cup, but were eliminated prematurely from the FA Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy after meek performances with weakened teams in both competitions.

Asked whether lower league clubs were entitled to treat cup fixtures as less of a priority than league matches, McAllister said: "I don't think so.

"In the last couple of seasons, clubs from the lower divisions have gained a lot of momentum by getting decent cup runs and we'll be looking at it like that.

"We're not at the stage where we can change all 11 players, like some of the Premier League or Championship clubs can. We might be able to tickle the team a little bit, but we're looking to go there and win and get into the next round.

"I've been fortunate to have decent runs in cup competitions (as a player) and no matter what club, or what level you're at, it's a nice time of the season to get away from the rigours of the league."

Leeds will face Oldham in a difficult first home game of the League One season on Saturday and McAllister is unlikely to risk Prutton or Showunmi if either player is short of fitness. Bradley Johnson (back) may also miss out again. Argentinian striker Luciano Becchio may be given his first competitive start for Leeds following a short appearance as a substitute against Scunthorpe.

The former Barcelona forward has taken time to build up his match fitness after arriving at Elland Road from Merida UD towards the end of pre-season, but McAllister said: "Luciano's getting there. We're seeing improvement day by day.

"It was a gruelling game (at Scunthorpe) and we're not turning our attentions towards Oldham yet because we see this as a chance to progress in a competition where you never know what could happen – two or three games in, you might land a nice tie."

Chester boss Simon Davies, however, will look for an appropriate response this evening after a dire weekend which started badly when experienced defender Paul Linwood was withdrawn from City's starting line-up after injuring himself in the pre-match warm-up at Dagenham.

Teenager Kevin Roberts was called in as a late replacement to partner ex-Leeds captain Paul Butler in the centre of defence, but Chester were 4-0 down after an hour.

"They were unfortunate to lose their centre-half in the warm up," said McAllister. "It meant they had to rejig their starting XI but I expect a reaction tonight."

This evening's tie will be settled on the night, via extra-time and penalties if necessary.