Leeds United succumbed against Fulham at the Craven Cottage in their last Championship outing as the latter secured a 2-0 win over the former. On Saturday, the Whites are due to take on Sunderland at the Elland Road and given that the Black Cats are one of the relegation-threatened sides, Leeds United must be aiming to bag all three points this weekend.
Leeds United Team News
Eunan O’Kane and Matthew Pennington had to be withdrawn in the clash against Slavisa Jokanovic’s side and they are sidelined for the game against Sunderland. Leeds United are also going to be bereft of the services of Liam Cooper, Adam Forshaw and Kemar Roofe. Meanwhile, Conor Shaughnessy, Luke Ayling and Tyler Roberts are the long-term absentees.
Here is how we expect Paul Heckingbottom to dish out his starting line-up against Chris Coleman’s entourage.
Goalkeeper
Bailey Peacock-Farrell is expected to be stationed between the sticks yet again for the Yorkshire based outfit in the upcoming fixture. The 21-year-old was decent against the Cottagers and can hardly be blamed for the couple of goals that were conceded by him.
Defence
Leeds United’s youngster, Paudie O’Connor, travelled with the squad to the Craven Cottage and he is expected to make his first start for the club from the central defensive in the absence of Pennington. Alongside him, Pontus Jansson is seemingly likely to start and he is going to be a very important player against Coleman’s side.
Gaetano Berardi has been one of the most consistent players for the Peacocks this season and he is expected to be fielded at right-back. The left-back slot has been one of the major causes of concern for Leeds United and in the upcoming fixture, we expect Vurnon Anita to be rolled out to render his experience.
Midfield
As O’Kane and Forshaw are out of the contention to ply their this weekend, we anticipate that Ronaldo Vieira and Kalvin Phillips might see the green light from Heckingbottom to start from the central midfield. They need to dictate the tempo of the game and cushion the back line meticulously.
Samuel Saiz has found the back of the net on 5 occasions and has also registered 6 assists from 29 appearances in the Championship and his attacking prowess has been quite notable. He is expected to operate as the central attacking midfielder.
Attack
After his forgettable outing against Fulham, Caleb Ekuban might be replaced by Pierre-Michel Lasogga up top. While Ezgjan Alioski is expected to take the right-wing, Pablo Hernandez is seemingly likely to operate from the left-wing.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored & Squawka
