After their eight-game unbeaten streak came to a halt against Barnsley, Leeds United will hope to regain the momentum when they face Nottingham Forest this midweek. The Whites were punished for their lapse in concentration as three goals in the span of 10 minutes put the game beyond their reach.
Garry Monk’s side weren’t at their strongest as defender Pontus Jansson was missed when Barnsley went for an overkill to try and get back in the game. It showed that even though Leeds have a pretty solid playing XI, their bench strength isn’t the best and that could make things tricky for Monk in the final few months of the season when resources will be stretched. Monk did reveal that the club is working hard to bring in new faces and it could be a busy transfer window in the last few days of the transfer window.
The problems have become pretty prominent as the Leeds bench didn’t have a single alternate centre-back in the last game. But credit should go to Monk who has made the best use of his resources. The clash against Forest won’t be easy considering they ended a nightmarish run of results and finally picked up their first win after seven games when they beat fellow strugglers Bristol City at home.
Leeds will have home support and will look to avenge the defeat they suffered in the reverse fixture when Forest ran out 3-1 winners. Here’s how Garry Monk could set up his team.
Predicted Leeds United Lineup
The biggest positive will be the return of Jansson who has served his two-game ban. He is expected to start alongside Kyle Bartley at the heart of the defence. Luke Ayling could be shifted to the right back role while Gaetano Berardi is expected to fill in the left back spot as Charlie Taylor is still out. Robert Green is expected to guard the goal.
In the midfield, Eunan O’Kane could get a start ahead of Ronaldo Vieira and play alongside Liam Bridcutt in the double pivot. Pablo Hernandez could be given a breather and Kemar Roofe is likely to start in the number 10 role. Stuart Dallas and Souleymane Doukara could start as the two wide players. Hadi Sacko is pushing for a start as well, but might not make the starting XI.
Chris Wood was on target twice in the last game and will be expected to continue his goal scoring prowess against a leaky Forest defence.
