Leeds United will be hosting Wolves for their EFL Championship fixture at Elland Road on Thursday night.
A 2-2 draw against Derby County sparked a sense of hopeful optimism among the Leeds fans. The Peacocks almost managed to run away with the 3-points away from home only to fall to a late equaliser from the Rams. All in all, it was a positive showing under the newly appointed Paul Heckingbottom.
It was followed up by a 1-0 win at home against promotion chasing rivals, Brentford. However, the run of form did not get carried over to the next fixture and the Peacocks fell 3-0 against a motivated Middlesbrough side.
Patrick Bamford was the difference maker as the 24-year-old registered his first hattrick for Boro and Whites were left chasing the game for the entirety of the 90 minutes.
The victory lifted Tony Pulis’ side into the 7th place of the points table, two points off the playoff spots while Leeds fell down to the 12th spot, eight points outside the top six.
This fixture will be in no way a walk in the park as the Wanderers look towards resurrecting their giant lead at the top of the table. After last week’s defeat to Fulham, they are currently just 6-points ahead of Cardiff City at the summit and a final stage drama can be instigated by a loss in this game.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have dominated the second division from the very beginning but teams have choked in the last stretch of the season before. With both teams eager to fulfil their own agendas, Thursday night is expected to produce a thriller at West Yorkshire.
Here is how Leeds United might lineup.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Felix Wiedwald is expected to take up his spot in between the sticks.
He should get shielded by the defensive quartet of Vurnon Anita, Liam Cooper, Pontus Jansson and Gaetano Berardi. Laurens De Bock has found it hard to fit into the English game ever since his arrival in the January window. While Anita is not an out-and-out full-back but is far better defensively than the Belgian.
Midfield
Kalvin Phillips and Eunan O’Kane are predicted starters in the holding-midfield role with Samuel Saiz in front of the duo as the attacking midfielder. The flanks could be filled up by Ezgjan Alioski and Stuart Dallas.
Attack
Pierre-Michel Lasogga should find himself in the lone striker role. A lot will be at stake for him to give his team a much-needed victory that too against the current Championship league leaders.
