Adam Pope says who he would start as Leeds United face Bournemouth – Karl Darlow or Lucas Perri

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Daniel Farke has an incredibly difficult decision ahead of him when he goes to pick his Leeds United XI to face Bournemouth on Saturday, as Lucas Perri prepares to return from injury.

Darlow was handed his first Premier League start in four years when Leeds faced Fulham last weekend. It came after Lucas Perri suffered an injury, having kept two clean sheets in his three Premier League games.

Wales no.1 Darlow was excellent at Fulham, pulling off a sensational stop to deny Kevin. It came after the veteran goalkeeper pulled off a similarly magnificent save in Wales’ 1-0 qualifying win over Kazakhstan.

Darlow retained his place at Wolves, making several important saves to keep Leeds in front. According to FotMob, Darlow is currently Leeds’ best-performing player with a rating of 7.73 in his two league games.

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Lucas Perri set to return, but Adam Pope wants Karl Darlow start

Before the game against Wolves, Daniel Farke said Leeds would be in a position to decide if Perri would be fit to face Bournemouth by the middle of this week. So, who starts on Saturday – Perri, or Darlow?

Dominic Matteo says it would be hard to drop Darlow, while the stats show Darlow should continue ahead of Perri. Adam Pope told the Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet podcast he’d like Darlow to continue in goal.

“My view is, that I think he [Darlow] was unlucky not to have started the season [in the starting line-up]. So I think he should keep his place on the basis of the last two performances, he was very good,” he said.

Could Lucas Perri be about to receive the Jaka Bijol treatment?

Perri’s absence has allowed Darlow to come in and shine for Leeds, much like Illan Meslier’s dismal form allowed Darlow to come in and sparkle in the last seven games of the 2024-25 Championship season.

But Darlow has done more than enough to prove he warrants the starting spot. Perri then, could find himself warming the bench alongside Jaka Bijol, who has had to watch on from the sidelines this season.

Suspension, carried over from his time in Serie A with Udinese, saw Bijol miss the opening game. It saw Pascal Struijk impress and keep his place since, and Perri may now be subjected to the same treatment.