Injuries and suspensions have seen Daniel Farke’s Leeds United squad stretched to its very limit this season.
Though Farke may be blessed with one of the strongest in terms of names in the Championship, depth wise, it is far from the biggest.
Youngsters Sam Chambers, Charlie Crew and James Debayo have all been on the bench on several occasions already this season, due to the amount of matches Leeds‘ more senior players have missed.
Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, Max Wober, Dan James, Manor Solomon and Patrick Bamford have all each been absent for multiple games already.
To make matters worse, suspensions have also started to bite in recent weeks. Junior Firpo missed the draw at Bristol City, Jayden Bogle is out of Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, and both Joe Rodon and Wilfried Gnonto are sat on four bookings.
- READ MORE: Daniel Farke says Leeds United have three new injury doubts ahead of Plymouth at Elland Road
Farke shares why Sam Byram is ‘so important’ at Leeds
Up until last week, defence had been the only position not really affected by injuries or suspensions.
Farke had named the same back four in all of Leeds’ opening 11 matches of the league season, meaning the likes of Sam Byram, Isaac Schmidt and Wober (when fit) had not started a single game.
As such, Byram was the first new face in Leeds’ back four all season at Bristol City and although he produced a performance worthy enough of being in the Championship TOTW, clearly weakened the side.
His tendency to cut inside on his right foot meant Leeds lost a lot of the balance provided by Firpo whenever he gets forward.
However, speaking in his pre-match press conference, Farke has insisted Byram remains a ‘key player’ in the squad and was pleased with how he performed at Ashton Gate.
He said: “Sam Byram is really a key player even though he has not played that many minutes. He is so important with his experience on the training pitch and dressing room. He can play wherever I need him. He was not in his full rhythm, but really solid performance.
“Everything under control in defence. Junior Firpo in his full rhythm is more flying but Sam was involved in good situations. Overall, a quite solid performance and happy to have him available.”
Why Isaac Schmidt deserves Leeds start over Byram
Regardless of whether he plays or not, Byram will remain an important member of the squad due to the experience he brings.
At 31, Byram is one of the oldest players at Leeds. However, in a game such as Plymouth on Saturday, it isn’t really an attribute Farke should be prioritising in his XI.
Leeds are almost certainly going to be dominating most of the ball at Elland Road and with that in mind, Isaac Schmidt should get the nod over Byram in place of Bogle.
Under Farke’s own admission, Schmidt’s biggest strength is going forward and so at home to a struggling side feels like the perfect game for him to come into.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
