Leeds United come up against high-flying side Bristol City in the Sky Bet Championship tonight. The Whites are in the middle of a wretched run and will find it tough to turn around their luck against Bristol City.
Garry Monk’s departure from Leeds United at the end of last season by brought into picture Thomas Christiansen. Christiansen had guided Apoel Nicosia of Cyprus to the last 16 of the Europa League and to Cypriot first division title last season before taking over at Leeds.
When Christian walked into the club, the board was hoping to see the positive effect of having a foreign manager, in a manner somewhat similar to what David Wagner or Marco Silva has had at Huddersfield Town and Hull City last season.
Leeds got off to a flying start to their new season. Fast flowing football that was easy on the eye and a defence that since the opening game at Bolton had conceded three goals in eight games meant that Leeds could not have hoped for a better start. The Leeds machine, however, began to show signs of crack as the league progressed and they now stand eleventh in the table after 13 defeats in 31 games. It led to the sacking of their manager but his departure did little to turn around the club’s fortune
Doubts are clouding over the club and the atmosphere at Leeds right now is grave. Several post-mortem reports of the club’s defeats have speculated about various aspects that the club needs to get right. One clear need for a position of reinforcement is that of a striker.
With Caleb Ekuban just returning from his time on the sidelines, Samuel Sáiz suffering from some serious disciplinary issues and Pierre-Michel Lasogga unable to fire on all cylinders, the bulk of the scoring responsibility has fallen on Kemar Roofe and Leeds need to be defensively compact to turn around their season.
With playoff hopes rapidly disappearing, Leeds will be preparing for another assault next season. As for tonight’s match, this is how they will want to line up.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
Felix Wiedwald to play in goal for Leeds. The centre-back pairing is likely to be Matthew Pennington and Pontus Jansson. The full-backs are likely to be Stuart Dallas and Laurens De Bock.
Midfield
Eunan O’Kane along with Adam Forshaw and Kalvin Phillips are expected in midfield.
Attack
Pierre-Michel Lasogga might lead the line with Ezgjan Alioski and Kemar Roofe on the wings.
