Junior Firpo and Crysencio Summerville to be axed, Rodrigo to return – Leeds United predicted XI v Wolves
Javi Gracia is likely to make several changes to his Leeds United starting lineup against Wolves as he pushes to get out of the relegation zone.
The Whites claimed a hard-earned draw against Brighton in the Premier League last weekend, but slipped down to 19th place in the table as results elsewhere went against them.
With just 12 games remaining for the season, Gracia is running out of time to get results and points on the board, and that could see him make some changes to his team for this game against fellow strugglers Wolves.
In goal there is no doubt from anyone that Illan Meslier is the best option if we’re to avoid the drop, and it’s exactly why he will start every game that he is available for this season.
The defence has struggled to keep clean sheets this season, and Gracia could look to make a subtle change to shore the team up a bit more for this game.
Luke Ayling will certainly continue at right-back with his performances excellent in recent months, while the centre-back pairing of Robin Koch and Max Wober is stronger than anything else the club can put out right now despite the imminent return to fitness of captain Liam Cooper.
Junior Firpo has done well at left-back so far since Gracia’s arrival, but his lapses of concentration defensively are a problem at times and Pascal Struijk is simply a better defender, so should come into the side now that he is healthy again.
In midfield Tyler Adams continues to be the standard bearer for the team and his leadership qualities have been evident, and his best performances seem to come alongside his fellow countryman Weston McKennie.
That would likely see the Spaniard Marc Roca drop out of the team, despite Gracia’s admission that he will be a very important player for the club for the remainder of the season.
In attack Brendan Aaronson’s work rate off the ball and creativity are a big plus for the team and he is likely to continue in the side on the right, meaning young winger Crysencio Summerville takes a seat on the bench.
Jack Harrison had a rollercoaster of a game against Brighton with an own-goal followed by a stunning equaliser late on, and with Gracia already making the big decision to drop Wilfried Gnonto from the team it’s likely that he’ll do it again here to keep Harrison in the side riding his momentum wave.
Rodrigo returned to the team as a substitute last weekend and as the top goalscorer this season he should come back into his preferred number ten role, supporting the natural number nine that is Patrick Bamford after he notched his first goal since January against Brighton too.
In other Leeds news, one pundit believes one Whites star has no chance of displacing his competition in the team.
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