Jaka Bijol gets his chance after bombshell Daniel Farke update – Leeds United predicted XI vs West Ham
Leeds United will look to stop the rot when they take on West Ham under the lights at Elland Road on Friday.
Burnley beat Leeds 2-0 at Turf Moor on Saturday, on what was a frustrating day for Daniel Farke‘s side.
The Whites dominated much of the action and created several promising chances, but fell to two superbly-taken Burnley goals.
Noah Okafor and Willy Gnonto are doubts for the visit of West Ham, after both players missed the trip to Turf Moor.
And in a bombshell update on Wednesday, Farke confirmed Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk missed training due to illness, with question marks now outstanding over both players’ availability.
Daniel Farke to make several changes vs West Ham
Daniel James has returned from injury ahead of schedule, and made an appearance off the bench against Burnley.
The winger may be brought back into the starting line-up against West Ham, with Brenden Aaronson failing to impress on Saturday.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is expected to keep his place through the middle, while Jack Harrison could be dropped for Noah Okafor if the winger does return.
Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff should keep their spots against West Ham, but Ao Tanaka could come in for Ampadu should the Wales international not recover from his illness.
Gabriel Gudmundsson was the standout against Burnley for Leeds and should keep his place, while Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle could line up alongside Jaka Bijol, who could earn his first Premier League appearance for Leeds in the potential absence of Struijk.
In between the sticks, Lucas Perri could make his long-awaited return to the starting line-up in place of Karl Darlow.
Jaka Bijol deserves a chance in Pascal Struijk absence
Leeds signed Bijol from Udinese in the summer in a deal worth around £15million.
The defender was unavailable for the season opener after serving a suspension carried over from last season, but has sat on the bench unused in every Premier League game since.
The Slovenia international was given his debut in the Carabao Cup against Sheffield Wednesday, and looked to be a promising option for Leeds when he finished the game with a staggering 92 per cent completion rate from 110 passes.
| Jaka Bijol | vs Sheffield Wednesday (A) |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 101/110 |
| Accurate long balls | 7/10 |
| Tackles | 3 |
| Clearances | 4 |
| Recoveries | 7 |
| Duels won | 10/16 |
Yet Farke has been reluctant to move away from the partnership of Struijk and Rodon, despite the former’s poor run of form.
Bijol will hope Friday’s game can hand him his first chance to break into the starting line-up, however, and Leeds could be set to benefit.
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