Leeds United will look to bounce back from a disappointing performance against Middlesbrough and attempt to keep their faint Championship play-off hopes alive when they host table-topping Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road on Wednesday night.
The Yorkshire outfit had the opportunity to close on Boro in the top six at the Riverside Stadium on Friday night, but they fell to a 3-0 defeat with Patrick Bamford scoring a hat-trick for the hosts.
Few players came out of the clash on Teesside with any credit, and the poor result has left the Whites just eight points adrift of the play-offs with only one win in their previous 10 games, and there are only 11 matches of the campaign remaining.
Paul Heckingbottom will know that his team need to start picking up wins if they are to have any chance of gate-crashing the promotion party this term, but they face a tough task against a Wolves side that are at the summit and 10 points clear of third-place Aston Villa going into the latest round of fixtures.
Heckingbottom named an unchanged XI from the 1-0 win against Brentford against Tony Pulis’ men on Friday, but the 40-year-old will be considering making changes to his side and possibly even his formation for the visit of the league leaders after such a below-par display last time out.
Here is how Leeds must line up to get an unlikely three points against Wolves on Wednesday…
Defence
Goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald has been struggling for a while now, and Heckingbottom likely would have dropped him to the substitutes’ bench had Andy Lonergan not been injured.
The German stopper put in another disappointing display against Middlesbrough on Friday and while Lonergan still isn’t available, 21-year-old Bailey Peacock-Farrell is and he must start against Wolves given the fact that Wiedwald’s confidence is clearly shot.
Gaetano Berardi, Pontus Jansson and captain Liam Cooper should all keep their places in the backline, but Heckingbottom should consider replacing Vurnon Anita with Laurens De Bock after the former endured a torrid time against Adama Traore at the Riverside Stadium.
Midfield
Heckingbottom started with a 4-2-3-1 system against Boro, but he should consider reverting to more of a 4-4-1-1 formation against the table-toppers on Wednesday night.
The system should give them more defensive cover and make them more effective in wide areas where they have the players that can make a difference – especially at Elland Road.
Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Phillips should be replaced by Adam Forshaw and Ronaldo Vieira following their poor displays at the Riverside Stadium, while Ezgjan Alioski and Pablo Hernandez – who is available again after injury – should start on the flanks, with Stuart Dallas dropping to the substitutes’ bench.
Attack
Saiz impressed on his return from a six-match suspension in the 1-0 win against Brentford, but he struggled to make an impact against Middlesbrough on Friday – similarly to the majority of his teammates.
The Spaniard will be hoping to put his stamp on the clash with the Championship leaders however, and Heckingbottom will know that he needs the attacking midfielder to be on his game in order to boost his team’s chances of taking a much-needed three points.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga largely had to feed off of scraps at the Riverside Stadium, and the centre-forward will be hoping for better service and support back on the Yorkshire outfit’s home patch, and he once again needs to start ahead of Caleb Ekuban up top.
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