Three key battles in Leeds’ trip to Millwall, including Ethan Ampadu vs £15m man

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Leeds United return from the international break with a trip to Millwall on Sunday.

The Whites have a notoriously poor record at the Den over the years having not won away at Millwall since November 2012, a run which includes five defeats in six matches.

However, with the uncertainty of the summer now finally behind Leeds, Daniel Farke’s side will be looking to really kick start their season, starting in the capital this weekend.

In what will be an intense atmosphere, Leeds will have to get the better of a number of key battles across several areas of the pitch if they are to come away with three points.

So, with that in mind, we have taken a look at three of them, where the game could be won and lost.

Ethan Ampadu vs Zian Flemming

Leeds’ August player of the month against Millwall’s talisman promises to be a key battle. Ampadu has been superb in holding midfield since his move from Chelsea but will face arguably his sternest test yet against Flemming.

Flemming was wanted by Premier League side Burnley during the summer but Millwall’s £15m valuation put them off, after he netted 15 goals in his debut Championship campaign last term.

The 25-year-old is very much Millwall’s main attacking threat but if Ampadu can keep him quiet, it would go a long way to Leeds coming away with a win.

Georginio Rutter vs Jake Cooper

Rutter will be coming up against a proper Championship centre-half in Cooper at the Den, with the 28-year-old standing at around 6ft6.

While aerially Cooper is likely to come out on top, if Leeds can find Rutter in space to run at the defender there should only be one winner in that department.

Leeds could hardly get Rutter in the game against Sheffield Wednesday but a repeat of his performance at Ipswich Town would be huge.

Willy Gnonto vs Brooke Norton-Cuffy

There is no doubt Gnonto will cause any full-back in this division problems from an attacking point of view, but he will also have to be switched on going the other way tomorrow, too.

Norton-Cuffy is an athletic wing-back who excels going forward and so Gnonto can ill-afford to leave whoever is at left-back on his own to defend him.

That said, Gnonto’s strength clearly lays in what he can do in the final third and so if he can keep Norton-Cuffy pinned back, it could be crucial.