Leeds United are certainly in the contention to clinch a promotion to the Premier League. Under the tutelage of Thomas Christiansen, the Whites are placed at the 6th spot in the league table 43 points 26 games.
Their focus will shift to the FA Cup as they are due to make a trip to the Rodney Parade to face Newport County in the third round of the competition on Sunday. Here is how we expect Christiansen to dish out his starting line-up against Exiles.
Defence
Felix Wiedwald has been used between the sticks in the league by Christiansen but in the upcoming cup fixture, he is expected to be handed a bit of rest. In his place, Andy Lonergan is seemingly likely to be vested with the gloves for the goalkeeping position, for he is more than a decent player to be used in the aforesaid position.
Christiansen has plenty of defenders and he would be inclined to shuffle his men at the back. At the heart of the defence of the Yorkshire-based outfit, we expect the pair comprising of Conor Shaughnessy and Matthew Pennington to be stationed. This pair should be able to offer the requisite resilience at the back.
At the right-back slot, Luke Ayling would be a sensible option whereas, on the left-back, we expect to see Cameron Borthwick-Jackson be pencilled to showcase his calibre. Borthwick-Jackson is an exciting youngster and has shown a lot of industry whenever called upon.
Midfield
For the central midfield zone, Mateusz Klich is likely to be used alongside Eunan O’Kane. A lot would rely on how these two keep it all set in the middle of the park. They would be entrusted with the responsibilities of guarding the backline and push the game forward.
From the no.10 position, Jay-Roy Grot is likely to get a rare nod to start to create chances and to fetch the other forwards adequately.
Attack
Pawel Cibicki is anticipated to spearhead the attack of the Peacocks against The Ironsides. The 23-year-old has been sporadically used so far and the upcoming game could provide him some time on the pitch from the very beginning.
At the left-wing, Stuart Dallas would be more than a decent choice, for his galloping runs and ability to stretch the defence of the opposition makes him a good player to have in the starting line-up for a cup game, whereas from the right-wing area, Ezgjan Alioski might be chalked by Christiansen.
