Leeds vs Man United predicted XI: Wilfried Gnonto starts, James Trafford debut

Leeds United take on bitter rivals Manchester United at Dublin's famous Croke Park stadium on Wednesday night.

Europe's third-largest stadium will see 82,000 supporters crammed in to watch Leeds and Man United do battle.

Daniel Farke's side are hoping to make it four wins on the bounce in pre-season, after defeating RB Leipzig in a two-hour-long contest last Saturday.

Leeds are unbeaten against the Red Devils in their last three meetings in all competitions, and are looking to enjoy back-to-back wins over Michael Carrick's men after their memorable 2-1 victory at Old Trafford back in April.

Man United are enjoying a strong pre-season of their own, however, drawing with Paris Saint-Germain last time out after wins over Atletico Madrid and Rosenborg.

So, ahead of Wednesday night's 7:30pm kick-off in Dublin, MOT Leeds News attempts to predict how Farke will line his Whites team up against Man United.

Daniel Farke makes two defensive changes for Leeds vs Man United

As mentioned, Leeds enjoyed a 2-0 win over German giants RB Leipzig on Saturday afternoon, but it was a taxing one in the baking Elland Road sunshine.

Because of that, we're expecting Farke to protect some of the Leeds players who played more minutes than others in that one for the clash with Man United.

In goal, we're backing James Trafford to make his Leeds debut at Croke Park, after not playing any part in the Leipzig win.

It's harsh on Alex Cairns, but the veteran keeper played the full 120 minutes last weekend, and Farke will surely want his number one of the future to be integrated as quickly as possible ahead of the new season.

As for the three central defenders, we're tipping Tarik Muharemovic and Joe Rodon to keep their places in the starting XI, but James Justin had a long run out against Leipzig, and could be rested in favour of Jaka Bijol.

So, with two changes to the defensive unit, will Farke continue to make some alterations in Leeds' midfield?

Farke has straightforward midfield decisions to make vs Man United

Leeds were superb defensively against Leipzig, and much of that stemmed from how much control they had in the middle of the park.

Sebastiaan Bornauw was excellent against Leipzig at left wing-back, and provided he's still a Leeds player come Wednesday night, he should retain his place in the team.

Jayden Bogle was his typically solid and reliable self in that match too, and you can expect him to also keep his spot against the Red Devils down the right.

One of the standout performances from Saturday was that of Sean Longstaff, as the 28-year-old took another sizeable step towards cementing himself as a can't-drop starter ahead of the Premier League campaign.

Both he and Ethan Ampadu were brought off after the opening 60 minutes against Leipzig, and so the pair should be well-rested ahead of Wednesday night and ready to once again be the starting central midfield duo.

That just leaves the forward line to sort out, and Farke has some fascinating calls to make in attack.

Gnonto's Leipzig impact can't go unrewarded vs Man United

Dan James would start on the right wing against Leipzig, but the Welshman struggled to provide any end product despite some typically dangerous runs and dribbles down the flank.

Wilfried Gnonto came on for the final 30 minutes in that match, and it only took the Italian 20 minutes to provide the assist for Lukas Nmecha's goal, doubling Leeds' advantage.

This coming season feels like a make or break one for the 22-year-old at Elland Road, and so when he's got some form behind him, Farke should look to give the talented winger opportunities.

As such, we're backing him to replace James in the starting XI on Wednesday night, as he attempts to carve out his role in the side before competitive action begins.

Down the left, Harry Wilson endured somewhat of a frustrating afternoon against Leipzig.

The new signing was drifting into central areas and always looking to get on the ball, but most of what he tried to do just didn't come off for him.

However, everyone around LS11 knows and can see he's a quality player, and so Farke will surely want to keep giving him as many pre-season minutes as possible to accelerate his integration into his system.

Then comes the decision on who leads the line at centre-forward, with both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha finding the net against Leipzig last time out.

Both strikers are in good form, with Nmecha scoring two in his last three whilst Calvert-Lewin has three from his last two respectively.

With this game always meaning so much to both sets of supporters, however, we're going to say that Farke sticks with his number nine to start against Man United, as Calvert-Lewin looks to extend his pre-season purple patch in Dublin.