Daniel Farke has got to take £16m man out of his starting Leeds United XI, his record vs Stoke is awful

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As Leeds United fans will be tucking into their Christmas Day dinner, Daniel Farke will be thinking about his starting line-up to take on Stoke City on Boxing Day evening.

While the core of Farke’s side is expected to stay the same at the Bet365 Stadium, there are a few changes that Farke will have to consider ahead of facing a side that beat Leeds in this fixture during 2023-24.

The big one will be whether to keep Ethan Ampadu in the starting line-up on Boxing Day. Three months out, Ampadu was thrown into the starting line-up against Oxford United at centre-back on Saturday.

Pascal Struijk was only good for the bench but after a rest of five days, you would expect Struijk to come back in alongside Joe Rodon. Surely, it might be too much to ask of Ampadu to start another game.

• READ MORE: Daniel Farke’s record against Stoke is not as convincing as fans may have hoped

Daniel Farke has to take £16m Leeds man out of his starting XI

It is not as if Leeds are lacking in midfield, either. Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell have deputised for Ilia Gruev and Ampadu in wonderful fashion, and they are likely to continue together in the starting line-up.

That is a relatively easy decision for Farke. Sam Byram will continue at left-back in Junior Firpo’s absence if fit, while rotation is likely once again out wide in order for Wilfried Gnonto to come back into the side.

But it is up top where Farke has a decision to make. Joel Piroe has started four of the last five games but has failed to score and his record against Stoke has got to convince Farke to start Mateo Joseph at Stoke.

Joel Piroe’s record vs Stoke is abysmal, Mateo Joseph should start

Piroe has faced Stoke six times in his career – twice for Leeds, four times for Swansea. But the £16m man clearly finds Stoke a bit of a bogey team, losing four of the six games he’s played and scoring only once.

The Dutchman is not scoring at the moment despite numerous chances and given his record against Stoke, Farke has surely got to hand Joseph the chance to go and stake his claim in Staffordshire this week.

Indeed, many have called for Joseph to start away games given his intensity as the first line of the defence and the Spain U21 star’s grit and determination might just help sway Farke into making a striker change.