Daniel Farke risks Joel Piroe over Mateo Joseph for Patrick Bamford in Leeds United XI vs QPR
Daniel Farke has taken a risk with his Leeds United starting line-up to face QPR at Loftus Road after replacing Patrick Bamford with Joel Piroe.
The English striker has travelled with the squad but isn’t even on the bench due to his knee injury, with summer signing Piroe the one change from the 4-3 win at Middlesbrough on Monday.
However, fans may have hoped to see youngster Mateo Joseph get the nod after his breakthrough performances this term, having also been overlooked two games ago against Blackburn (13 April).
The side’s hopes of gaining automatic promotion this season took a huge blow as Leeds United were sluggish in attack that day and hit late on by Sammy Szmodics to lose 1-0 at Elland Road.
Joseph, 20, has largely only seen first-team action in late appearances off the bench this term, but he scored his first two goals for the club in a rare start at Chelsea in the FA Cup (28 February), and rescued a point with his first league strike at Watford (29 March) after arriving in the closing stages.
Piroe has been far from a poor signing this term with 14 goals in all competitions, but the former Swansea man also has only one in the past two months and his blank against John Eustace’s side was damaging.
Farke will have to hope that he hasn’t made the same mistake in showing faith in 24-year-old in West London, because more dropped points here could end the push to finish in the top two and land an immediate return to the Premier League.
Leeds United risk Blackburn Rovers loss repeat?
Leicester’s 5-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday (23 April) has put the Foxes four points clear at the top, and Ipswich remain a win from their game in hand from overtaking the Whites.
So there is no margin for error between now and the end of the season if Farke and his players are to land automatic promotion and avoid the travails of the play offs.
In the drama-filled 4-3 victory at the Riverside on Monday night there was more to be pleased about in an attacking sense than there had been for a few games, but there was still enough to be concerned about defensively in conceding three times, and Illan Meslier was criticised for his performance in goal.
But with Bamford, who scored in the previous game, again ruled out there is a risk that the momentum could have been interrupted, and after Piroe didn’t prove the answer the last time his English teammate couldn’t start he will need to make a difference here.
Should the summer signing again fail to have the desired impact and this result doesn’t go Leeds’ way it may open his manager up to significant criticism with the stakes so high at present.
In other Leeds United news, Mike Dean has issued a “really, really hostile” verdict on the Whites.
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