Leeds United predicted XI v Manchester City under Sam Allardyce: Pascal Struijk, Rodrigo to start
Sam Allardyce has a seven-point survival blueprint and it’s one he’s very likely to begin incorporating at Leeds United against Manchester City.
The Whites travel to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, 6 May, to take on Pep Guardiola’s side gunning for a third straight league title.
After a 4-1 defeat against Bournemouth, the Whites board decided that the time was opportune for them to get rid of Javi Gracia and bring in Sam Allardyce.
Throughout his managerial career, Allardyce has seldom moved away from a back four and we expect him to stick to the basics for this one.
He’s liked his full-backs to not drift forward unless absolutely important and given the strength of the City attackers, he may not even want them to go beyond the halfway line.
This is why Pascal Struijk, 23, a centre-back by trade may be asked to play out there to deal with the threat of Riyad Mahrez or Bernardo Silva.
Junior Firpo is a defensive liability and should not be risked for an important game like this so Allardyce could axe him.
Big Sam also likes to play a double pivot and for that reason, we feel he would be better with Adam Forshaw in there along with Weston McKennie.
Allardyce has also always liked to have a target man leading the line and players fighting off scraps from the second ball.
Patrick Bamford can do this perfectly and we’re expecting Rodrigo to play as a 10 and Brenden Aaronson out wide as he can track back and help out with his defensive duties.
Along with Willy Gnonto, the American can be an important option on the counter attack and Leeds have a slim chance of getting something out of that game if they go with this system.
In other Leeds United news, an exit-bound senior player was spotted in tears after what happened recently.