Nottingham Forest host Leeds United this weekend with Jesse Marsch’s men needing to get back to winning ways as the sides below them creep up.
The Whites are without a Premier League win since beating AFC Bournemouth back in November, but will be hopeful of translating their FA Cup form into the league.
Their opponents this week are Nottingham Forest, a side who have the chance of stretching their gap to Leeds to six points, a huge booster ahead of the second half of the season.
Marsch doesn’t have a full strength side to name at the City Ground, but after naming a strong side against Accrington Stanley, he might not have to make a great deal of changes.
Here, we look at the starting lineup we think Marsch could name as we face Steve Cooper’s Forest…
First off, we think after the three senior signings made in the January window, a 4-3-3 setup is what looks most practical with the players Marsch has at his disposal.
In goal will remain Illan Meslier, who picked up his first clean sheet of the new year in the last Premier League fixture, as the home draw against Brentford offered very little in the way of goalmouth action for the Frenchman.
Forest v Leeds predictions?
Forest win
Draw
Leeds win
The back four is where we see our first change with Robin Koch suspended, meaning Marsch is without a natural right-footed centre-back (as Diego Llorente joined AS Roma too).
We expect Rasmus Kristensen, Liam Cooper, Max Wöber, and Pascal Struijk to line up in the back four, and the Austrian has instilled a lot more calm into the setup than previously seen – his body language at conceding his first goal at the club last weekend showed how high his demands are.
A midfield three looks to be what works best with Leeds’ options, and new signing Weston McKennie ought to start alongside reliable man Tyler Adams, and Marc Roca.
The inclusion of a third midfielder could help with containing counter attacks, while opening up the chance of seeing more expansive distribution from Roca.
We think a start for Georginio Rutter is in store after his impressive debut against Accrington.
There is certainly far more to come from him than his efforts in the FA Cup, but definitely enough to whet the appetite of fans demanding an instant impact, especially after seeing Rodrigo ruled out for a decent period with injury.
Patrick Bamford will start in place of the injured Spaniard, while Willy Gnonto should return to the lineup after missing the FA Cup trip.
In this scenario, a very strong bench would include the likes of Luis Sinisterra, a returning Crysencio Summerville, and Jack Harrison.