Leeds United changes expected as Daniel Farke mulls over rotation vs QPR
Leeds United will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on QPR at Elland Road on Wednesday night
Leeds United will be happy for the quick turnaround this week following their hefty loss to Southampton on Saturday. The Whites were comfortably second best on the south coast, but the visit of QPR on Wednesday gives them the opportunity to bounce back to winning ways immediately.
Daniel Farke’s side will be motivated to right some wrongs and the German will almost certainly be looking to freshen up his side with a few changes. There are decisions to make for Farke then and they could come across the park with several players pushing to be involved from the start against the Londoners.
Defence
Farke made the call to stick with a winning team on Saturday as he resisted the urge to bring Joe Rodon back into the fold. That meant Liam Cooper started alongside Pascal Struijk for the second straight game, despite both men being left-footers.
Midfield
On the face of it, there’s a straight choice in the centre of midfield with Farke set to decide between starting either Glen Kamara or Archie Gray alongside Ethan Ampadu. Kamara has got the nod for Leeds’ last two games but struggled at Southampton and the quick turnaround might provide an opportunity to mix things up and give Gray, who started Leeds’ first seven league games, another start
He will be involved more as the season progresses, no doubt, but could this be the time to give him a full debut?
Attack
Farke has kept changes to his attacking quartet to a minimum since the start of September. Joel Piroe has played behind Georginio Rutter since the last international break, with Crysencio Summerville and Dan James each starting three of the las
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However, with Jaidon Anthony pressing for a starting spot, we could see a change on Wednesday with the Bournemouth loanee brought into the fold. Who he replaces could well depend on the conditions of Summerville and James, with neither man catching the eye on the south coast.
Rutter looks the most likely man to start up front at this stage, but Patrick Bamford is fit again and while he probably isn’t ready to come into the line-up just yet, he’ll be looking to make an impact and stake a claim off the bench. Joel Piroe hardly got a foothold in the game at St Mary’s but it looks probable that he will start in the number 10 role unless Farke is tempted to mix things up.
Arguably Piroe’s strongest position is up front, so there is always the chance the manager pushes him further up the field to play, with Rutter either playing alongside or off one of the flanks. Without a natural number 10, though, that would leave a question of how to fill the hole behind the striker.
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