Leeds United face a quick turnaround following Sunday’s agonising defeat, with a trip to the King Power Stadium against Leicester City lying ahead for Jesse Marsch’s men on Thursday.
The game is significant as it is a repeat of Marsch’s first fixture in charge of the Whites. But, more importantly, it already feels like a must-win clash. At the very least, Leeds must not lose.
A repeat of the performance against Arsenal on Sunday will surely see Leeds win. The Whites were absolutely outstanding against the Premier League leaders. And on another day, we could have scored several goals.
Leeds predicted lineup against Leicester
The worry is that Leeds have, so far, been at their best against the teams who look to impose themselves on Marsch’s side.
Bamford in for Rodrigo?
Leicester may well feel that they may be better off not taking the game to Leeds. And if that is case, the Whites really need to prove a point against a side there for the taking.
The Foxes will be without James Maddison. He will serve a suspension for the fixture. But they still boast a lot of quality in the final third.
There is arguably one big decision facing Marsch ahead of the game when it comes to team selection. On Sunday, it was Rodrigo who started up front with Patrick Bamford coming on at the break.
Rodrigo was good for much of the half. And you could imagine that the plan was always for Bamford to come on either at half-time or early in the second-half.
But there is no question that Rodrigo made Marsch’s decision much easier with an awful error. The Spaniard attempted a bizarre cross-field pass inside his own half when under little pressure.
Pascal Struijk was unable to win the ball. And that allowed Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to link up for what would prove to be the only goal.
Rodrigo would not have needed telling that it was a big error. And Marsch may not let that moment factor into his decision on Thursday.
But there is little doubt that Bamford was excellent in so many ways when he came on. And Leeds stepped up several gears with the Englishman on the pitch. He is an ‘exceptional‘ talent at his best.
Leeds need a fast start on Thursday. So surely, it is a no-brainer to start Bamford.
With that in mind, here is the predicted lineup in full…
GK: Illan Meslier
RB: Rasmus Kristensen
CB: Robin Koch
CB: Liam Cooper
LB: Pascal Struijk
CM: Tyler Adams
CM: Marc Roca
RW: Brenden Aaronson
AM: Jack Harrison
LW: Luis Sinisterra
ST: Patrick Bamford
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