Leeds United have made three changes to their starting XI for their Championship clash against Reading on Saturday afternoon.
Goalkeeper, Felix Wiedwald, centre-back Matthew Pennington and attacking midfielder Ezgjan Alioski have been axed in favour of skipper Liam Cooper, Andy Lonergan and Pablo Hernandez.
Leeds announced their team for the Elland Road showdown an hour before kick-off on their official Twitter account.
 
???? Today’s Starting XI presented by @Ladbrokes
Lonergan, Ayling, Cooper, Jansson, Berardi, O’Kane, Phillips, Roofe, Hernandez, Saiz, Lasogga pic.twitter.com/XXsSPAop93
— Leeds United (@LUFC) October 14, 2017
Cooper is available after serving a one-match suspension, while Hernandez is recalled after being dropped for the 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday before the international break.
The most notable decision by manager Thomas Christiansen is to axe Wiedwald, who has started all 11 of Leeds’ previous league matches this season.
The £500,000 summer signing loses out to Lonergan, who makes his first Championship start for the club in his second spell.
Leeds are fifth in the Championship table going into the match, while Reading are struggling in 20th position.
OPINION
It is a big call from Christiansen to omit Wiedwald, who had kept six consecutive clean sheets as the team began the season on fire. But the German has looked nervous in recent matches and made a string of errors that have contributed to some dicey displays. He can now prepare himself for an extended spell on the bench, as it is unlikely Lonergan will have been recalled for just a single match.