Leeds United return to Elland Road this Saturday, hoping to end a five-game winless run, facing a Spurs side in form at the moment.
It’s been a pretty flat month or so in the Premier League, with Leeds winless in the last five games and looking toothless in the final third too.
Daniel Farke needs to find solutions, but faces a pretty significant test against Roberto De Zerbi’s in-form Spurs side.
Leeds United team news pre-Spurs: DCL minor doubt, Okafor and Stach major doubts
Farke’s pre-match press conference took place today, in which there were worrying updates on the attacking players currently “struggling”.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a minor doubt after a foot knock, but Farke is optimistic he will be available. However, Anton Stach and Noah Okafor have missed training all week with persistent issues, and are major doubts.
Elsewhere, Joe Rodon has back in full training and close to a return. James Justin and Gabriel Gudmundsson are both fully fit after knocks against the Cherries.
Here, I share my Leeds predicted XI to take on the North London club on Saturday afternoon…
Goalkeeper: James Trafford
The occupational risk of having a goalkeeper who needs and wants to play out from the back is that they sometimes get caught. Even the best goalkeepers to ever play have howlers in their game worse than James Trafford’s at Bournemouth.
However, there’s a time and a place to play those bounce-passes into midfield and out to the wide defender, and that was not one of those times. Safety first next time, please; we’ve got a huge aerial presence leading the line, we can go long when needed.
Aside from that, Trafford was fine with his feet, though. And I don’t expect that anything in the 24-year-old’s game will change against Spurs.
Defence: James Justin, Nico Elvedi, Tarik Muharemovic
Again, even in defeat to Bournemouth, I don’t think the defence were especially bad. A gift gave Bournemouth the lead, and a cheap giveaway from the midfield allowed the Cherries a second.
So, I do think James Justin, Nico Elvedi and Tarik Muharemovic all keep their places in their respective positions.
Justin will be looking over his shoulder as Rodon nears his return, and will need to show what he can produce on the ball to keep his place.
Spurs’ insistence on dominating the ball means these three will be crucial in ensuring we keep a good structure around our own box. For all of Spurs’ dominance, they do lack a No9 that can make their possession count consistently in the penalty area.
Midfield: Jayden Bogle, Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka, Gabriel Gudmundsson
At wing-back, we need more from Gabriel Gudmundsson, who gets into a lot of good positions, but has been quite wasteful. Jayden Bogle, meanwhile, has been one of the few outfielders trying to take responsibility on the ball. More of that please.
In midfield, as I mentioned about Spurs dominating the ball, there’s a lot of focus on Ethan Ampadu being able to stop Spurs from picking up space around the edge of the box. The likes of Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel can punish us from there, as they did last season.
Next to the Welshman, I do think Anton Stach needs to come back in. Yes, he’s badly out of form, but Leeds are a better-functioning team when he’s in it, and if he gets back to his best, we’re going to have a great chance of winning.
Ao Tanaka also keeps his place, and ought to show a bit more confidence on the ball too.
Attack: Harry Wilson Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dan James
Up front, Dominic Calvert-Lewin should fancy his chances of being able to win his aerial duels against Spurs’ centre-back pairing.
If we’re going to go direct, he’ll be vital again. But he obviously needs a whole lot more service than he’s currently getting.
And, with Okafor not fit by the looks of it, I do think Farke sticks with the same two attackers who started at the Vitality Stadium. That means Dan James and Harry Wilson get the nod.
It was an encouraging start before we conceded at Bournemouth. These two were key to that intensity, and Wilson had his best performance yet for Leeds. To hurt Spurs, we need to get these two into good areas again.
Full Leeds United predicted XI to face Spurs
Trafford; Justin, Elvedi, Muharemovic; Bogle, Stach, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson; Calvert-Lewin, Okafor.
