Despite not having the best of starts, slowly but surely, Leeds United have crawled into the playoff spots and are now aiming to finish inside the top two in order to get an automatic qualification. Their recent 3-1 win against Birmingham City followed by second placed side Brighton & Hove Albion’s 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Nottingham Forest has reduced the difference between these two Championship heavyweights to merely 7 points.
Garry Monk shall take his side to the Craven Cottage on Wednesday in what is a very crucial fixture for Leeds United to keep the momentum going in their favour.
Here is the predicted line-up of the Yorkshire based club to start against Fulham.
Defence
12 clean sheets in 35 appearances, Robert Green has been absolutely outstanding between the sticks for the Whites and should be starting yet again against Fulham. The 37-year-old veteran goalkeeper has been one of the pivotal reasons for Leeds United’s aversion to collapses as he has been a resolute guardian with the gloves.
At the heart of the defence, we expect the rock-solid pairing of Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley. There has been something special in Leeds’ defence owing to how well these two defenders have gelled to inject steel in their backline. On the right-hand side, we expect Luke Ayling should be starting the proceedings whereas, on the left, Gaetano Berardi should be getting the nod yet again.
Midfield
A double pivot of Liam Bridcutt and Eunan O’Kane is seemingly likely to start against Slavisa Jokanovic’s outfit as the former Swansea City manager is likely to go on with his 4-2-3-1 formation. On the right wing, we expect Hadi Sacko to get a not ahead of Souleymane Doukara, with the latter being sloppy against the Blues in their last outing.
On the left, January transfer window signing in the shape of Alfonso Pedraza should be getting a start at the expense of Stuart Dallas owing to the fact that the Spaniard showed a lot of flamboyance and grit at St. Andrew’s last weekend and also found his name on the score sheet. Pablo Hernandez is likely to slot into the No. 10 position once again.
Attack
New Zealand international, Chris Wood, has made the centre-forward role his own this campaign, banging goals left right and centre and has raised a sense of hope amongst the Leeds United faithful. The 25-year-old has collected 24 goals in 34 appearances for the Elland Road-based club, including a brace against Birmingham City in their last fixture and should be starting up front against Fulham.
Predicted Line-Up:
