Leeds United’s prolonged period without a fixture has helped the club in terms of getting Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper back to full fitness.
That is according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the latest news from Elland Road during the international break.
Following the passing of the Queen, all Premier League and Football League fixtures on the weekend of 10th-11th September were postponed as a mark of respect.
The Whites’ game the following weekend at Manchester United also had to be postponed, over concerns over the lack of available police resources ahead of Her Majesty’s funeral the following day.
And given that this weekend is an international break, it will have been 29 days since Jesse Marsch’s side’s last fixture by the time his XI take to the field against Aston Villa on 2nd October.
However, the unexpected break will have given Leeds time to get both Bamford and Cooper match-ready ahead of the final stretch of games before the November break for the World Cup.
“It gives Marsch time to get players back on the training pitch, back to full fitness and ready to go once the international break is over.
“Patrick Bamford played in a U23 game last Friday against Southampton and scored a couple of goals.
“Liam Cooper also played and scored as well.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments
We think that the return of both Bamford and Cooper to the Leeds squad will be a huge boost for Marsch ahead of the clash with Steven Gerrard’s side.
The former is still the club’s only senior out-and-out centre-forward, with FC Zürich and Italy international Wilfried Gnonto being brought in as a young cover option on deadline day.
Meanwhile, Marsch will hope that club captain Cooper’s presence will be felt back at Elland Road, after his side let in five in their 5-2 defeat at Brentford in their last game.
Therefore, we believe that the return of Bamford and Cooper is just what Marsch required to improve on the last performance, and get back to winning ways next weekend.