After picking up an important win on the weekend, Leeds United now face a tough midweek fixture away to Stoke City and here is the predicted starting lineup that we believe manager Daniel Farke will choose.
Leeds face Stoke on Wednesday evening, with kick-off at 8:00 PM BST, and with the 3-2 win over Norwich placing them third in the Championship, this upcoming fixture is a huge chance for them to push for a spot in the top two.
Stoke are currently only two places above the relegation zone and are fighting for their lives, so it will be a very tough away fixture for Leeds.
Despite this, if Daniel Farke picks the perfect starting lineup then there is no doubt that Leeds could pick up a comfortable win.
Leeds team news ahead of Stoke City clash
Leeds are lucky that they do have quite a strong squad as they have some players injured at this current time. Djed Spence, Junior Firpo and Stuart Dallas are still only in intermittent training as they recover from their long-term injuries. Due to them not being in full training yet they are not expected to be in the match day squad to face Stoke.
20-year-old defender Leo Hjelde has a small knock and this saw him miss the game against Norwich on the weekend. He is still a doubt for this upcoming match as well, but with him only playing one Championship game this season, it is unlikely he will be involved.
Meanwhile, Leeds currently have no suspensions at the moment. Any player who picks up five, 10 or 15 yellow cards in the Championship will receive suspensions. Those who pick up five yellow cards will only pick up a one-match suspension. Two players have to be careful as they are at risk of being suspended in the near future. Illan Meslier and Ethan Ampadu currently have three yellow cards, so are only two yellow cards away from suspension.
Leeds predicted lineup vs Stoke
It looks like Daniel Farke has found the backline he wants this season, with the manager selecting Illan Meslier in goal, with Sam Byram, Pascal Stuijk, Joe Rodon and Leeds academy star Archie Gray starting the last two games in defence. Gray has been praised by the manager for his role at right-back.
The two holding midfielders should be Glen Kamara and Ethan Ampadu, with the latter having a huge influence on the team since signing in the summer.
The attacking lineup could vary as Leeds have lots of options, but at the moment, the strongest attackers look to be Dan James, Joel Piroe, Crysencio Summerville and the ‘magnificent‘ Georginio Rutter up front. Rutter has only scored two goals this season but the striker has been massively important and his recent performance in the win over Norwich emphasised this. He is only 21 years-old but looks to have a very high ceiling.
- Manager: Daniel Farke
- Formation: 4-2-3-1
- GK: Illan Meslier
- DEFENCE: Archie Gary, Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, Sam Byram
- MIDFIELD: Ethan Ampadu, Glen Kamara
- ATTACK: Daniel James, Joel Piroe, Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter
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