Adefunmiloye Alani

Tue 30 November 2021 15:12, UK

This is part of a regular series from our panel of Super Fans on upcoming Leeds United games. Ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace, we caught up with @Chit3ri, a Palace fan.

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Leeds United host Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening and will be hoping to pick up their third Premier League win of the campaign.

The Elland Road outfit face a side that have impressed under Patrick Vieira, but they will still fancy their chances of winning in front of their home fans.

The Eagles have drawn five of their last eight league games, winning twice, and leaving West Yorkshire with all three points will be on their mind after last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

Ahead of the clash, we spoke with @Chit3ri, a Palace fan to gauge the mood amongst the opposition supporters.

What have you made of Leeds so far this season?

I’ve been surprised by how lowly they’ve placed this season. The style of play hasn’t changed, but I was expecting Leeds to kick on and maybe challenge West Ham and Leicester for European positions.

Who will cause you the biggest issues?

The biggest issue, no doubt, will be Raphinha on that right side. He’s tricky and skilful, and when he’s on his left foot, his delivery, and even shots, will cause our backline problems.

What have you made of your season so far?

Our season has been decent so far but definitely could’ve been better.

Vieira settled well and he’s implementing his style of attacking play onto the team, which will take its time, of course, but we have a considerable number of our games which has been annoying, whilst also encouraging, because last season those would’ve easily been frustrating losses.

Who should Leeds watch out for?

Leeds should watch out for Wilfried Zaha, of course, and Christian Benteke, who’s recently got back into form.

Despite Odsonne Edouard’s arrival, Vieira’s kept faith in Benteke and started him the majority of the time, and Benteke seems to be repaying this faith.

Is Patrick Vieira likely to make any big changes to the side?

Vieira prefers stability, so major changes are unlikely.

The only few I could see happen would be in attack, whether he decides to start Michael Olise or Edouard.

Are there any particular weak links in the Crystal Palace side you fear may get exposed?

I fear our midfield may be susceptible to Leeds’ high energy attacking play, and over the course of the game they may tire.

Also, maybe not a weakness, but Tyrick Mitchell may be vulnerable to bombardment from Raphinha and Luke Ayling if Zaha doesn’t track back and help out.

What type of game are we likely to see?

We’ll see an open-ended, fast-paced game as both teams have exciting and quick wingers that are game-winners, and fullbacks that bomb forward trying to influence the attack.

Also, what may fly under the radar are our athletic keepers that are both prone to errors and capable of pulling off the improbable save.

Finally, given Leeds’ position in the league, they’ll have to go for it from the jump to prevent fan upheaval, and Palace need to get back to winning ways after failing to win our last two.

In other Leeds United news, a major update on Whites January bid to sign attacker has been provided, with pen-to-paper imminent.