Ilia Gruev should be axed at half-time for Leeds United after what Whites did v Cardiff
Leeds United are heading into the second half of their game against Cardiff City with a scoreline of 1-0.
The Whites have been dominating the Bluebirds throughout the tie and haven’t really found themselves under any sort of pressure.
Especially after Joel Bagan’s red card, Leeds should be looking at capitalising on their extra man and putting even more pressure on Erol Bulut’s defence.
Hence why, Farke should think about replacing Ilia Gruev with new arrival, Ao Tanaka.
Ao Tanaka can help increase the Leeds United scoreline
While Leeds are currently leading Cardiff 1-0, there’s no doubt that the Whites will want to set things straight after their recent poor run of form.
The midfielder was brought in over the summer for a bargain fee [The Athletic, 5 September] but hasn’t yet started a Championship game for the West Yorkshire outfit.
While Farke may have his favourites in Gruev and Ethan Ampadu, it feels like now would be a good time to give the Japan international a chance to prove his worth.
In fact, Graham Smyth even shared that he thought the game against the Bluebirds would have been an ideal chance for his first start [Inside Elland Road Podcast, 19 September].
While Tanaka is still a defensive midfielder, he has a more attacking mindset then the Bulgarian when it comes to the way he plays his role.
This is something that Leeds could really benefit from with someone else making progressive passes to allow more chances to get to their attacking players.
Of course, there is still plenty of time left in the game for changes to be made but, for Farke to get the most out of his substitutes, half-time seems like an ideal time for this switch to be made.
In other Leeds news, Daniel Farke has made an admission about Junior Firpo’s contract.
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