Leeds United

Leeds United: Graham Smyth drops early team news predicition

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Image for Leeds United: Graham Smyth drops early team news predicition

The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth has been speaking in a Q&A about how Leeds United may line up this coming weekend.

The Whites had a disastrous time of things last time out in the Premier League, as they shipped five goals to Brentford – the first time they’ve shipped more than four since February when Liverpool put six past them.

Therefore, Jesse Marsch could well ring the changes ahead of what may be seen as a must-win game against newly promoted Nottingham Forest, who lost themselves 3-2 to Bournemouth – a side that had previously scored only two goals in the league all season.

Smyth believes that there could well be almost wholesale changes in the backline for Leeds on Saturday afternoon.

“I can see Liam Cooper coming in for Diego Llorente and playing alongside Robin Koch. I could also see Junior Firpo having to fight his way back in and Pascal Struijk retaining the left-back position for a little while yet.

Who would you rather start for Leeds?

Ayling!

Ayling!

Kristensen!

Kristensen!

“As for right-back, Kristensen is really under pressure now that Ayling has come back and, albeit for a short period of one game, made an impact. It will be fascinating to see who gets the nod for Forest if both men are fit to start.”

TIF Thoughts on Smyth’s predicted changes…

One of the changes that jumps out immediately would be the dropping of Diego Llorente. We don’t think the Spaniard nor many fans would have complaints given the three errors he made against Brentford which led to goals, as well as the one which also led to a goal in their recent clash with Everton.

However, the potential change that is a lot more interesting is at right-back, as Ramsus Kristensen was absent last week when they shipped five goals, so naturally, bringing him back in would make logical sense for Marsch.

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Although, Luke Ayling, who’s been a regular for Leeds in that position for several years now, made a cameo appearance last weekend for 21 minutes and appears to be ready to start Premier League games, so it will be very interesting to see if Marsch goes with the tried-and-tested Ayling or the younger option in Kristensen, who is still trying to find his feet in England.

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