Leeds United host Bournemouth at Elland Road on Saturday and the YEP has predicted how Daniel Farke might line up.
Leeds United will play in front of their own support for the first time in four weeks on Saturday, with Bournemouth the next visitors to Elland Road. Daniel Farke’s side came from 1-0 down to beat Wolves 3-1 last time out but face one of their toughest tests so far in a Cherries side on 10 points from five games.
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Farke held his pre-game press conference on Thursday afternoon and allayed fears over Jayden Bogle, whose foot injury only kept him out of full training until Wednesday, while Daniel James is also in contention to return from a core issue. Lucas Perri (quad) and Willy Gnonto (calf) remain unavailable.
With just the two guaranteed absences, Farke still has a pretty strong squad to pick from and so will have one or two tough decisions to make come Saturday. Below, the YEP has made an attempt at predicting how he might line up against in-form Bournemouth.
1. Leeds United predicted XI
A look at how Daniel Farke could line up on Saturday.
2. GK: Karl Darlow
Back in with Lucas Perri still injured, although there’s a case to be had that Darlow would have kept his place regardless. Has been excellent in recent weeks and deserving of a clean sheet that hasn’t yet come.
3. RB: Jayden Bogle
Farke eased concerns over a serious foot injury on Thursday, with Bogle in full training this week and seemingly good to go. A massive boost, given his performance-levels throughout the first few weeks of the campaign.
4. CB: Joe Rodon
Has been nailed on for the past two years and not expected to lose his place any time soon. Another strong performance at Molineux against physical strikers, although Evanilson will provide another really tough test.
5. CB: Pascal Struijk
An early concession at Wolves shouldn’t overshadow Leeds’ defensive work and Struijk was central to it once again. Unfortunately for Jaka Bijol, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
6. LB: Gabriel Gudmundsson
One of the standout performers at Molineux and quickly becoming a fan-favourite, surging into space and defending well. Saturday could be his toughest defensive test against the in-form Antoine Semenyo.
7. CM: Ethan Ampadu
Brilliant at Wolves, as he so often is. Will be tasked with covering the space between defence and midfield, an area Bournemouth love to flood with top quality playmakers.
8. CM: Ao Tanaka
Sean Longstaff lost his man for Wolves’ opener but that’s not why he’s dropped. With Bournemouth such a heavy-pressing side, Tanaka’s technical quality should give Leeds a better chance at playing through the lines.
9. CM: Anton Stach
Emphatically answered some performance-related questions at Wolves with a beautiful free-kick and a perfectly-weighted pass for Okafor. Physicality and energy will be crucial against a relentless Bournemouth side.
10. RW: Brenden Aaronson
A performance like many others at Molineux, full of energy but lacking in final-third quality. Farke might be minded to lean on the American’s defensive work-rate again on Saturday, with Bournemouth left-back Adrien Truffert not afraid to bomb forward.
11. LW: Noah Okafor
A first goal at Molineux and an improved performance to boot, with Okafor definitely the squad member who can turn nothing into something. Leeds might need that on Saturday.
12. ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
A great all-round striker’s performance at Wolves will need to be replicated on Saturday, with Leeds likely needing to go long when Bournemouth press. Needs to be physical and, like last weekend, take that chance when it comes.
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