Phil Hay names fringe Leeds United players set for new Daniel Farke chance
Phil Hay has predicted that fringe Leeds United players will get the chance to start in a strong Leeds United side against Peterborough in the FA Cup.
The FA confirmed the third round draw on Sunday 3 December, with another away trip set, with Daniel Farke tipped to name a strong side.
Hay named the likes of Ilia Gruev and Jaidon Anthony as two players who could be set to prove their worth, with the German rating them both highly.
Speaking on the latest Squareball Podcast, as shared on YouTube, Hay predicted what may happen when the FA Cup comes around once again.
He said: “While I do think he will try to use what you may call fringe players, away at Peterborough, because he does have actually good players who aren’t really getting much of a game at the moment.
“It’s not as if they are players he wouldn’t really want, who are hanging about and he feels compelled to, from time to time, make it look as though they’re going to be used.
“I think he does genuinely rate Gruev, Anthony and others like that, and will look to get them into the team.”
Cemented.
Farke has made it very clear with his selections recently that he knows his strongest starting line-up, with consistency emerging in his decisions.
Anthony is one of the most used substitutes in the Championship this season, and with a rammed Christmas period, could get more than just one chance to start.
Gruev has only started one game so far this season against Stoke, and the fact that it ended in defeat didn’t bode well for any immediate future chances.
There are other players such as Djed Spence who will be looking to take advantage of this busy period, with Ian Poveda another, with a strong side expected regardless.
Leeds have thrown away opportunities in the FA Cup for far too many years now, and we cannot afford to be looking at another embarrassing defeat, with games at the weekend not adding too much strain.
Changes are expected, but plenty of games are to come before this one, so who knows what could happen?
In other Leeds United news, international media were stunned by what one “hero” loanee did at the weekend.