Facundo Buonanotte in line for full Leeds debut vs Birmingham, Piroe and James tipped to start
Leeds United’s only senior winter signing Facundo Buonanotte is reportedly set to make his full Whites debut vs Birmingham on Sunday.
According to an X post from Telegraph journalist Adonis Storr on Sunday morning, he claims that Buonanotte is expected to be given a chance to stake his claim on a starting role for Leeds.
Storr also states that Joel Piroe is also expected to come into the starting lineup against Birmingham, with the striker having only made two Premier League starts so far this season.
It’s also reported that Dan James could be in line to make his return to the lineup at St Andrew’s as well, having only just returned from a significant hamstring injury.
Who might Buonanotte replace in the Leeds lineup?
It remains to be seen what formation Leeds boss Daniel Farke will deploy against Birmingham on Sunday, having chopped and changed in that regard over the last few games.
Against Chelsea on Tuesday night, Farke went with a 5-4-1, but at home to Nottingham Forest in the game prior to that, he deployed a back three.
Three at the back has been Farke’s preferred system in recent weeks, and a 3-4-1-2 was also the formation he chose when beating Derby 3-1 in the FA Cup third round back in January.
So, with another away date against Championship opposition on Sunday, it’s probably likely that the Leeds gaffer will revert back to this approach again, as he looks to get as many attacking options on the pitch as possible.
Buonanotte is an attacking midfielder by trade, but can also play out on the right wing, so there is a couple of areas where he could come into the lineup against Birmingham.
Brenden Aaronson looks a safe bet to be replaced by the Brighton loanee, as the American international could perhaps do with a rest on Sunday.
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How will Birmingham likely setup against Leeds?
Birmingham look set to make this a proper FA Cup fourth round tie at St Andrew’s: a place where they’ve only lost one of their 16 Championship games so far this season.
As such, it’s not going to be a stroll in the park for Leeds, and Farke’s side will have to be at their clinical best if they want to see their name in the hat for the fifth round.
Chris Davies has almost exclusively set his Birmingham team up in a 4-2-3-1 system since he was made Blues head coach in the summer of 2024, so it’s likely that’s how they’ll deploy against Leeds on Sunday.
These two sides last played each other in the Championship on 1 January 2024, with Leeds running out 3-0 winners at Elland Road that day.
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