Joe Rodon gets full debut, Willy Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra not in squad – Leeds United starting XI vs West Brom
Daniel Farke’s Leeds United starting XI for the visit of West Brom to Elland Road has been released by the club, with the German in search of his first Championship victory as Whites boss.
The German will be hoping to bounce back from defeat at Birmingham City last time out, amid an injury crisis and both Willy Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra training away from the first team.
Joe Rodon comes in at centre-back for his full Leeds United debut after making a late substitute appearance against the Blues, while as expected the two stars are again missing from the match-day squad.
Charlie Cresswell makes way for Rodon, while club-record signing Georginio Rutter comes in to the XI in place of Ian Poveda.
Otherwise, Illan Meslier remains in goal, with Luke Ayling, Pascal Struijk and Sam Byram completing the defence, while Ethan Ampadu and Archie Gray continue in midfield.
Dan James and Jamie Shackleton also start along with Joe Gelhardt further forward.
Through the mire
Farke would surely like to have to deal with as few games as possible in the remaining weeks of the window as his squad is weakened by departures and hold-outs.
Those who are still on board and not injured do have a significant opportunity against the Baggies to inject some optimism back into the early weeks of a season, that have already got off to a far worse start than hoped.
But ultimately it is starting to look like a matter of getting whatever they can from the next two weeks and then regrouping once the deadline has passed.
Whatever new additions the manager is able to get through the doors in the mean time look like being crucial, with Tyler Adams the latest on the brink of an exit.
However, this is still a prime-time game on a Friday night at Elland Road, so the players can’t turn up feeling sorry for themselves even if the club is clearly going through a difficult time.
West Brom have had a summer of departures and financial concerns of their own, and while they clung on to win against Swansea last week (12 August) it has been far from plain sailing at The Hawthorns either.
So, off the back of a miserable 1-0 loss at St. Andrew’s, the Whites need to at least put in an encouraging performance back in front of the home fans and hope the result follows.
In other Leeds United news, the club has a new striker in their sights with a bid on the cards after watching him in action this week.