Leeds United are once again facing the horrors of losing steam in the second half of the season. Their latest defeat to promotion rivals Nottingham Forest was a catastrophic one as the Whites are now only ahead on goal difference over third-placed Fulham. The upcoming game is another big one for the club as they will travel to Griffin Park to take on Brentford, a team only two points behind Leeds United.
Every game which the Whites lose seems to follow a similar pattern. They dominate possession and see more goalmouth action than their opponents, but their rivals are seemingly more clinical. With the pressure mounting, Leeds will need to make some changes to get the best out of their squad.
Here are three players who we believe should be in contention to start in the upcoming ties (Kalvin Phillips who missed the last few games due to suspension will be available now. He isn’t mentioned in the list as he is already a first-team player).
Illan Meslier
The signing of Kiko Casilla was met with a lot of positivity as the Whites were getting a hugely experienced player who had played at the top level. However, it seems clear now why he was primarily a backup for most of his career. Casilla’s inability to command for aerial balls is clearly showing. Every set piece which the Whites get to defend is hearts in mouth stuff for the club faithful. Casilla’s confidence seems to be shot, and he surely needs to be dropped irrespective of his reputation.
Illan Meslier looked calm and confident when he played against Arsenal in the FA Cup, and he needs to be drafted in the first eleven. The youngster almost stands in at 6ft5, and he showed that he could be a strong presence when handling crosses and set pieces.
Tyler Roberts
The versatile striker should surely be in the reckoning to start after the Whites once again failed to score a goal. The question is in whose place he should get the nod. The likes of Patrick Bamford, Helder Costa and even Pablo Hernandez seem to be in the firing line. We believe Costa should be dropped as he has continued to be a disappointment.
Hernandez then should move on to the right vacating the attacking midfielder’s role for Roberts. His energy, pace and movement is something which the Whites can do with at the moment.
Jamie Shackleton
A controversial call but we believe Mateusz Klich needs to be dropped. The Polish midfielder has looked below par for some time, and he has hardly made any impact on the defensive front or in attack recently. The midfielder has the distinction of starting every game in the Championship since Bielsa took over. Given the exertion and the energy a midfielder puts in, especially in a Bielsa system, surely there needs to be a case of giving him some time off. Jamie Shackleton has looked sharp in his cameo appearances, and he deserves to be handed a start.
Bielsa is not known to make drastic changes, but if he doesn’t, then promotion could very well slip out of United’s hands. As for Jean Kevin-Augustin starting, Bielsa claimed that he isn’t in the right physical condition to play. Hence, we believe the manager’s words should be trusted here as he is the one who has seen him train from close quarters.
