Leeds United are in action at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, taking on Luton Town in a game that should, in theory, be very one-sided.
Leeds United go into this game in 2nd place of the Championship table compared to Luton Town down in 23rd.
The Whites drew 2-2 with Swansea City in their last game, ceding the top spot to Sheffield United and falling two points behind the Blades in the process.
Daniel Farke’s side have now won just one of their last five; drawing three and losing once to Portsmouth. Matt Bloomfield’s Luton Town are in better form.
Last time out the Hatters beat Hull City 1-0 away from home having now won three of their last five to find themselves just three points from safety with seven games to go.
Here are five predictions for the game between Luton Town and Leeds United on Saturday…
Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka will be Leeds United’s midfield pairing
Everyone knows Luton Town are a physical unit. Farke addressed this in his pre-Luton presser and it’ll be a game where the Leeds boss might call upon his more physical players, instead of his more technical ones, as to combat Luton’s physicality.
So expect a midfield pairing of Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu. Joe Rothwell didn’t have his best game against Swansea City last time out and so he could be rested, with Tanaka the one coming into the XI after he was benched against the Swans.
Pascal Struijk could play a blinder for Leeds United
Pascal Struijk, who earns £21,000-a-week at Elland Road per Salary Sport, could be a key player for Leeds United on Saturday, with Luton Town likely to throw a lot of long balls at Leeds and crosses into the box too.
Struijk is the Leeds United centre-back who wins the most headers (3.1 aerials won-per-game which ranks him 1st), whilst Joe Rodon is the one who looks to keep the play ticking over, so expect Struijk to have a busy afternoon at Kenilworth Road.
Karl Darlow will become an instant Leeds United hero
Ahead of this one, there’s been a lot of talk about Illan Meslier. In the last game against Swansea City, Meslier made a couple of errors and it lead to a new and very direct wave of criticism at the Frenchman, who’s made just too many mistakes this season.
And finally, Farke is dropping Meslier at Leeds United and playing Karl Darlow in goal for the game at Luton Town. Whether or not Darlow is busy or not remains to be seen. But if he can keep a clean sheet, not leave anyone anxious when the ball comes into the box and even make a couple of saves, he’ll become an instant favourite among Leeds fans who simply want a reliable goalkeeper.
Illan Meslier might not be the only big change Daniel Farke makes
Another name in the side who’s faced criticism in recent weeks is Manor Solomon. Last time out, Leeds United fans were critical of Solomon‘s performance and it looks like he’s simply in need of a rest, having just played on international duty with Israel too.
The Luton Town game could be the perfect chance to give Wilfried Gnonto a go from the start: he’s shown in recent cameos that he remains a livewire and his physicality might be better suited to this game too.
If Gnonto plays, it could be another classic performance from the Italian.
A low-scoring affair between Luton Town and Leeds United is inevitable
With Luton still in a dogfight and Leeds now under huge pressure in the title race, expect a cagey affair on Saturday, likely making for a very low-scoring affair too.
We saw that when Sheffield United came to Luton Town earlier in the year and leaving with a 1-0 win, which is a result that Leeds fans and Farke would surely jump at right now.
Only 46% of Luton Town games this season have seen three or more goals this season, whilst 49% have had two goals or less and 28% of their games have had one goal or less.
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