Early Leeds team news vs Brighton – Daniel Farke drops Willy Gnonto update
Daniel Farke has provided an update on his squad’s fitness ahead of the trip to Brighton on Saturday.
Leeds United beat West Ham 2-1 last week, and are attempting to amass some valuable points ahead of a key run of Premier League fixtures.
The Whites face Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool after Saturday’s game, and will hope to avoid losing all momentum.
Brighton are the heavy favourites against Leeds, but will come into the game off the back of consecutive losses to Manchester United in the Premier League and Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Michael Oliver has never sent off a Leeds player, with the referee set to oversee Saturday’s meeting at the American Express Stadium.
Daniel Farke provides update on Willy Gnonto
Gabriel Gudmundsson suffered a back issue against West Ham, with Farke providing hope after the game that it was just a bruise.
Willy Gnonto had been unavailable for the match, with the winger still in the process of returning from a calf injury.
There had also been a question mark over the involvement of Noah Okafor, and the forward, despite starting, could only complete 45 minutes.
The summer arrival has scored twice in just six Premier League appearances for Leeds, and is already seen among the most important of Farke’s attackers.
Farke spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of the Brighton game, and provided an update.
“I have nothing to report, nothing to complain about,” the Leeds boss said. “No illnesses, no injuries so everyone in training. We have a proper group, everyone is available. Proper competition. The situation I’d prefer much more.
“Sadly it’s not a guarantee that you’re going to be successful in the game, sometimes after a tough week you can also be successful, like we were last week but overall, it’s a much better situation compared to last week so no question marks today.”
On Gnonto, Farke said that he had trained for the first time since returning from injury this week.
“First full training week, he’s definitely, after being out for so long, not a topic for the starting line-up, definitely not,” he added. “We will see if we take him to the game.”
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Farke has never beaten Brighton
Farke has never faced off with Brighton while in charge of Leeds, but the German did go against the Seagulls on three occasions with Norwich City.
Both of the sides’ meetings in the 2019-20 season resulted in Brighton wins, with Farke’s side failing to score a goal.
| Daniel Farke vs Brighton | Season |
| Norwich City 0-0 Brighton | 2021-22 |
| Norwich City 0-1 Brighton | 2019-20 |
| Brighton 2-0 Norwich City | 2019-20 |
When they met again in the 2021-22 season, the one game in which the 49-year-old was in the dugout ended scoreless.
Farke has never even seen his team score a goal against Brighton, let alone win, but the Leeds boss will hope to change that on Saturday.
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