OPINION
Leeds United will be sweating over how to contend with West Bromwich attacker Dwight Gayle when the two sides clash as he is set to be available to feature.
Leeds are set to host West Brom at Elland Road on the 1st of March and the 28-year-old’s availability for that important match in regards to the race for promotion from the Championship was in doubt, after he was charged for deceiving the official in WBA’s recent clash with Nottingham Forest.
However the FA, via the FA Spokesperson Twitter account, revealed on Thursday that Gayle had quickly accepted the charge meaning he will serve his two-game suspension with immediate effect.
Dwight Gayle will serve a two-match suspension with immediate effect after accepting a charge for ‘Successful Deception of a Match Official’. It followed the awarding of a penalty in the 89th minute of West Brom’s game against Nottingham Forest in the Championship on 12/02/2019. pic.twitter.com/bigST5Grn7
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) February 14, 2019
Phil Hay of the Yorkshire Evening Post then quickly clarified via his personal Twitter account that this meant Gayle was available for the clash against Leeds as he would miss the Bolton and Queens Park Rangers matches respectively.
Dwight Gayle banned for diving but will be back for Leeds-West Bromhttps://t.co/xzq2Ldyono
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) February 14, 2019
This means Leeds will be now sweating about the upcoming clash as Championship promotion rivals WBA are much more of a dangerous threat with Gayle to upon.
The 28-year-old hotshot is a handful for any side in the division and this is shown by the fact he has torn the league apart so far by scoring 16 goals, as well as assisting seven, in his 26 league outings.
While Marcelo Bielsa has a few capable defenders to call upon for Leeds’ clash with WBA, whether they’re up to the task of stopping Gayle is another question.
Also with Gayle sitting out two matches, he’ll 100% fit and eager to make a point upon returning to WBA’s team.
Therefore with Hay clarifying the status of Gayle’s availability following his suspension, the Whites are surely sweating about how they are going to cope with him.