Gabriel Gudmundsson must have full focus for Leeds as busy evening in line vs Sunderland
Gabriel Gudmundsson could play a key role for Leeds as they host Sunderland on Tuesday evening.
The Swedish fullback has been a core member of Daniel Farke’s squad this season, featuring in all but one of their Premier League matches.
He missed only one fixture because of an injury, not because Farke dropped him to the bench, showing how highly rated he is by the German.
As Leeds look to continue their journey to surviving relegation, the Swede could be a key man for the Whites against the Black Cats.
This is all down to the tactics that Regis Le Bris is likely to deploy at Elland Road.
Why Gabriel Gudmundsson will be busy vs Sunderland
Over recent weeks, Sunderland have shown a real preference to direct their attacks down a single side of the pitch, as per the Sofascore image below.
In the Black Cats game against Bournemouth, this was the right wing, and working down that side led to their goal in the 1-1 draw with the Cherries.
With Gudmundsson playing at left-back for Leeds, this means he will likely have a busy evening at Elland Road defensively.
Additionally, this was not a one-off instance against Bournemouth for Sunderland, as their highest concentration of players against Fulham, a week earlier, was the same.
Le Bris might well attack down the same flank against the Whites; if he does, Gudmundsson must stay 100 per cent focused for the full 90 minutes.
How has Gabriel Gudmundsson defended this season?
Gudmundsson has been fairly active for Leeds this season, with the fullback second for most tackles per match (2.2), only behind Ethan Ampadu (2.4).
With Sunderland looking to focus down his wing, he could end up having to make more tackles than the average over the season.
The Black Cats do have tricky wingers in the likes of Bertrand Traore, Nilson Angulo and Chemsdine Talbi, but Leeds’ Swedish defender is not often dribbled past.
However, no matter how good defensively you can be, repeatedly being asked to do that job over the course of a full match can be tiring.
Gudmundsson will need to make sure he is at the top of his game and allow the Mackems zero joy against him.
That battle down Leeds’ left side will certainly be an interesting one.
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