Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Mon 23 March 2026 9:40, UK

Leeds United may need to tweak their tactics again if they want to stay in the Premier League.

Daniel Farke’s side played out a dire 0-0 draw with Brentford at Elland Road on Saturday as Leeds missed the chance to pull further clear of the relegation zone.

That was the fourth game in a row where Leeds failed to score, but they are now four points clear of the bottom three after West Ham’s loss to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Farke has deserved credit for maturing as a Premier League manager, improving his in-game management, and changing up his system to get results this season.

But amid Leeds’ current goal-shy exploits, perhaps Farke’s famed 3-5-2 formation needs to be shelved in order to boost their attacking threat ahead of games with West Ham and Manchester United.

Leeds’ goal struggles is a growing concern

Against Brentford, Leeds mustered an Expected Goals tally of 0.54, whereas the Bees’ was 0.46.

The last time Leeds scored in a league game was way back on 21 February when Anton Stach fired in a brilliant free-kick in the 31st minute against Aston Villa.

You could argue that Leeds are creating enough chances to win games, but are just not being clinical in front of goal. Indeed, top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin hasn’t scored since that 3-1 Forest win – six games ago.

Much was made of Farke’s formation shift in the second half away at Manchester City in late November. The German ditched his 4-3-3, or 4-2-3-1, in favour of a 3-5-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

And it worked wonders as City struggled to cope with Leeds’ wing-backs of Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson.

Although they lost that game 3-2, that tactical change led to a spirited winter period for Leeds as they became hard to beat, while chipping in with many draws, a few wins, and a handful of defeats.

But the dire Brentford game perhaps highlighted that Farke needs another tactical rethink.

There wasn’t enough creativity from Leeds against the Bees, as the Whites missed Gudmundsson’s left-footed qualities, with the ever-dependable James Justin repeatedly turning back in and looking for teammates rather than stretching the defence out wide.

Leeds are finding it difficult to break down teams who sit in and look to hit them on the counter – a problem that is not unique to the Yorkshire outfit.

But perhaps playing the likes of Wilfried Gnonto, Dan James, or the returning Noah Okafor more could help get Leeds’ creative juices flowing again.

Whatever Farke decides to do, his current plan isn’t working.

Leeds’ defence stands firm

In recent games, there haven’t been many positives to take if you’re a Leeds fan.

Their gap to the bottom three has fallen from six to three, and now back up to four, as the relegation battle intensifies.

But one thing that is vital in a relegation fight is showing grit, determination and defensive solidity. Right now, Leeds are certainly doing that, with centre-back Joe Rodon leading the way.

Against Brentford, Welsh international Rodon helped keep 19-goal striker Igor Thiago very much in check, as the Premier League’s second top scorer was restricted to just one shot off target.

Jaka Bijol has also been a defensive colossus in Leeds’ last two games, and while they need more threat up top, two clean sheets in a row are a big plus.

Leeds will take a pause from the Premier League until 13 April, when they travel to Man United, but before then, they take on the Hammers in an FA Cup quarter-final on 5 April.

Whether Farke makes some formation tweaks remains to be seen.