Leeds United struggles coincide with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, stats show damning truth
Leeds United have become far too reliant on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Daniel Farke has the Whites on course to achieve Premier League survival, which was the goal at the very start of the season.
Several players have more than played their part in that pending success, but perhaps very few as much so as Calvert-Lewin.
The former Everton striker has 10 league goals for Leeds this season, which has him as the sixth-top scorer in the Premier League alongside the likes of Danny Welbeck and Viktor Gyokeres.
However, the reliance on him performing has become blindingly obvious, and Farke needs to find a way to change that.
Stats show why Leeds’ downturn in form is no surprise
Leeds aren’t in bad form, so to speak, though they have won just one of their last seven within 90 minutes across all competitions.
And while he hasn’t featured in all of those games, Calvert-Lewin has failed to score in six of his last seven games, with the only encounter in which he did score also being the only game that Leeds won.
That was their 3-1 victory against Nottingham Forest towards the start of February.
It leaves the Englishman with two goals from his last 10, having scored seven in his six previous appearances before this current run.
Of those six games, Leeds only suffered defeat once, and that was their narrow 3-2 defeat away to Man City at the end of November.
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How can Daniel Farke address Dominic Calvert-Lewin overreliance?
Calvert-Lewin needs to start when fit, that much is clear.
With 10 goals in the Premier League this season, he is going to be the difference between survival and relegation.
But the issue stems from the lack of game time given to Leeds’ other strikers, with Lukas Nmecha having played just 732 minutes across 22 Premier League appearances.
Added to that, Joel Piroe has played just 211 minutes across 12 appearances in the top flight.
When Calvert-Lewin isn’t available, or isnt at his best, Leeds often look lost with someone else leading the line, which shouldn’t be a shock given the lack of time they are afforded to work on their familiarity.
Farke needs to rotate his forward options more, or this reliance will continue ahead of the final 10 games.
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