Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has picked out the dangerous combination that Daniel Farke put together at Leeds United following their system change.
Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace head to Elland Road on the back of a short turnaround, having played in the Europa League on Thursday night.
They face a daunting challenge in West Yorkshire, with Leeds riding high after Daniel Farke turned the trajectory of his side’s season around by switching to a 3-5-2 at half-time against Manchester City.
With Leeds’ relegation rivals West Ham travelling to the Etihad to face City this weekend, the Whites have extra motivation to overcome Crystal Palace, to potentially open up a six-point gap on the Premier League bottom three.
Now, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin in superb form for Leeds, Glasner has pinpointed the dangerous Leeds combination that could threaten his side.
Leeds win and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scores – change my mind 👊
Fifth goal in a row, incoming
Oliver Glasner praises Leeds United combination in attack
Speaking in his weekly press conference ahead of the crucial game for the home side, Glasner praised the combination of Noah Okafor and Calvert-Lewin in attack.
According to Glasner, the attributes that Okafor and Calvert-Lewin bring as a strike partnership for Leeds mean his side will face a “nice challenge” at Elland Road.
Glasner said: “I know Daniel Farke quite well from Germany. He’s a fantastic coach and a fantastic person. And, yes, it’s a nice structure. We had to prepare, and we watched them in advance. It’s a good team.
“They had more than 100 points in the Championship, so you need to be good. And then they added a few players now, the two strikers, Calvert-Lewin, everybody knows in the Premier League.
“I know Noah Okafor from Red Bull Salzburg, a very quick player. I think it’s a good combination, one tall, great header, the other one very quick.
“They’re a very good team, but on the other side, and especially at home, they have very good results, very good performances, so it will be a nice challenge for us.”
- READ MORE: What happened the last time Daniel Farke met Oliver Glasner as Leeds United boss praises opponent
Daniel Farke needs more end-product from Noah Okafor in his new role
Farke has been unable to field his first-choice strike partnership, with Lukas Nmecha ruled out of Leeds’ last three games through injury, handing Okafor a chance in a new role.
While the Swiss forward has looked lively in his new position, switching from his preferred role on the left wing, he is yet to find the end-product Farke would expect from a centre forward.
Can Daniel Farke get one over on Oliver Glasner this weekend? 🦚🦅
The Leeds boss was full of praise for his opposite number
Okafor went close in both of Leeds’ draws against Liverpool and Brentford, but saw a left-footed shot saved on both occasions, to take his run without a goal to eight games, since he last found the net in a loss against Tottenham.
Having conceded just 15 goals this season, Palace have the joint-second best defence in the top-flight. As a result, Leeds need Okafor to be at his most clinical if he gets the kind of chance he missed in Leeds’ previous two games.
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