Leeds United are hosting Norwich City in the weekend at Elland Road for their EFL Championship fixture. 4 points behind Sheffield United in the 7th spot, Leeds cannot afford to drop points right now being so close to the playoff spot.
Norwich City were lauded as one of the contenders for the title before the season started but have so far disappointed. Sitting in the 16th spot they have not shown signs of gunning for a finish in the top 10. They won their last fixture 3-1 against Sheffield Wednesday at home after conceding early in the game.
Under new ownership and manager Thomas Christiansen, the ambitions of Leeds United have come to light. They are eager to improve on their last season finish in the 7th spot and missing out of the playoff battle. They put up an impressive display at Loftus Road and came away with the 1-3 win against Queens Park Rangers. They would like to replicate that scoreline and propel themselves closer to a playoff spot.
Christiansen is expected to field his team in the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Defence
After a run of 7 appearances on the bench, Felix Wiedwald returned to the starting lineup against Barnsley FC. Ever since then he has been the chosen man to lead the defence in front of goal can be predicted to start in this fixture.
Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper are expected to fill the centre-back positions. Luke Ayling has been a regular starter for the side in the right-back formation and might return to his spot for the fixture along with Gaetano Berardi on the left. The defensive backline received high praise from the manager after their performance in the last fixture.
Midfield
Kalvin Phillips might return to the lineup but Ronaldo Vieira might not. Mathew Pennington should get the nod for this fixture as part of a good rotational structure. The duo will take the defensive midfield positions.
With 5 goals and 4 assists in the season, Ezgjan Alioski has been a heavy influence in the Leeds United attacking structure. He is expected to start from the right wing position alongside Samuel Saiz.
Kemar Roofe’s greatly improved his goal tally of the season with a hattrick in the last fixture. He was unstoppable in the matchup and is expected to continue his run of form from the left wing position.
Attack
It is still uncertain when we will get to see Pierre-Michel Lasogga return to the squad. Caleb Ekuban picked up an injury in the 37th minute of the last game. His replacement Pawel Cibicki was impressive for the remainder of the game and should get the nod ahead of this fixture.
