Daniel Farke ‘Forced’ into Leeds United changes v Watford, Sam Byram expected to start
Daniel Farke is going to be “forced” into changing his Leeds United starting lineup when they face Watford on Saturday afternoon, report LeedsLive.
Joe Rodon will miss the game through suspension after his red card in the 0-0 draw with Hull, while Wilfried Gnonto is also expected to miss out after being forced off injured after just 21 minutes in the same game.
But the boss will have a decision to make on who starts at centre-back with Liam Cooper potentially not yet ready for 90 minutes after missing several weeks with injury, while Sam Byram is also expected to come back into the side.
“Daniel Farke will be forced into making unwanted Leeds United changes this weekend as the Whites take on Watford at Elland Road,” they wrote.
“Rodon will sit out of the clash against Watford as he serves his one-match suspension. At least one change will come in the backline, then, and on the face of it, it seems Farke has a straight choice between Charlie Cresswell and Liam Cooper.”
“Cooper was the man chosen off the bench on Wednesday to slot into the hole left by Rodon at centre-back in East Yorkshire with Cresswell left out of the squad altogether. But, it remains to be seen if Cooper is fit enough to play 90 minutes after returning from injury for the first time on Wednesday after a month and a half on the sidelines.
“There’s expected to be a change at full-back, too, with Sam Byram coming back into the starting XI.”
Forced
A couple of changes will no doubt be forced because of Rodon and Gnonto’s situations, but there are other areas of the pitch that you can argue need to be freshened up too.
Three consecutive clean sheets is a good thing and picking up points is always positive, but we’re yet to win a game at Elland Road this season and that must change.
Jaidon Anthony deserves a start after joining on deadline day, while Glen Kamara and Ilia Gruev are both capable of stepping in for 17-year-old Archie Gray who is clearly in need of a rest.
You then have the likes of Jamie Shackleton, Daniel James and Charlie Cresswell all pushing for appearances and Farke could do well to give them an opportunity to make the shirt their own in a game we must win.
It will be interesting to see what he goes with for a third game in seven days, but this is an opportunity to see just how deep our squad actually is with quality.
In other Leeds news, key man axed in predicted XI v Watford.