Thomas Christiansen has hinted that Leeds United defender Matthew Pennington will be handed his first start at the weekend since the opening day of the season.
Pennington, 22, made his comeback in Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at Cardiff City at half-time as a replacement for Pablo Hernandez after Leeds were reduced to 10 men by the red card given to skipper Liam Cooper, who was given his marching orders shortly before the break.
Pennington slotted in alongside Pontus Jansson in the heart of the defence in what was his first appearance since United beat Bolton 3-2 on 6 August.
The on-loan Everton defender was one of the few rays of light on what was a miserable night for promotion challengers Leeds and manager Christiansen spoke highly of him afterwards as he looked ahead to Sunday’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday.
“We have to replace Liam but Pennington had a very good and serious game when he came in,” Christiansen said, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Cooper will serve a one-match suspension at Hillsborough, which gives Pennington the chance to stake his claim for a regular slot.
OPINION
It has been a difficult start to his loan for Pennington, who has spent the last month-and-a-half of the sidelines watching Cooper and Pontus Jansson form one of the division’s soundest centre-back partnerships. But Cooper’s absence has paved the way for Pennington to return to the starting XI on Sunday. His pedigree and greater experience should see him get the nod over Conor Shaughnessy, who has showed encouraging signs during his handful of appearances this season. Indeed, if Pennington thrives in what will be a frenzied derby, he could make it difficult for the error-prone Cooper to earn a recall.