Leeds United host Norwich City tomorrow night in the playoff semi-final second leg with the tie in the balance at 0-0 after the first leg on Sunday.
Leeds’ away trip to Norwich City was fairly inconsequential as they came out of Carrow Road with a clean sheet and 0-0 draw.
Neither manager, Daniel Farke or David Wagner, left the match thinking their side is now up against is going to Elland Road on Thursday coming.
Leeds team news: Farke hoping for no fresh setbacks
There is no pre-match press conference for either manager this week in the buildup to the match, so as for concrete team news – the matchday arrivals will be the first indication of who is going to be present for Leeds and the Canaries.
Leeds don’t appear to have much in the way of fresh news, with Willy Gnonto the only one that looked to have an issue at Carrow Road, taking a stud to the temple in the second half, leaving the pitch with a cut when he was subbed off.
Dan James completed his comeback from injury as he came off the bench late on, while Patrick Bamford is not expected back after being ruled out by Farke for both legs last week.
With this in mind, we take a look at the lineup we predict for tomorrow’s clash against the Canaries…
Leeds predicted XI v Norwich for playoff semi-final
Farke finally switched things up for Leeds after the side looked jaded in the regular season’s run-in, with a slight tweak to change from a standard 4-2-3-1 to more of a 4-3-3, essentially compacting the midfield more to make Leeds more effective in counter-pressing.
It worked to an extend against Norwich, with Leeds’ best openings again coming in transitions and high turnovers, while being virtually unbothered by the Canaries in open play.
In goal, Illan Meslier will start, but he won’t do the Elland Road nerves any favours if his distribution doesn’t improve at short and long range.
His back four sees one change with Sam Byram swapped out for Connor Roberts, who should provide Leeds much more in possession down the right, offering a lot more support in the final third.
It may be a risk to swap out Byram, given his defensive work and aerial presence, but Leeds need to take the game to Norwich a lot more and full-backs in possession will be vital.
The rest of the back four will remain the same in Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, and Junior Firpo.
Who will win the playoffs?
Leeds United
Southampton
West Brom
Norwich City
Archie Gray crucial in attacking midfield role under Farke
Leeds looked a lot more balanced on Sunday, and it came with three midfielders in the middle of the park, something that Farke’s Norwich operated with in 18/19 when they beat Bielsa’s Leeds to promotion.
Glen Kamara’s reintroduction to the setup gave Leeds a much more organised shape and he was arguably the best player on the pitch in the first leg, and he will partner Ilia Gruev – who has looked uncharacteristically off the pace of late.
Spearheading Leeds’ midfield press is Archie Gray, who has threatened to burst into the box plenty when playing in this position and will be vital in finding holes in Norwich’s defence.
Out wide, Willy Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville have to start as they are our best wingers and will be needed at full tilt to get Leeds into a winning position.
The striker position is a tough one, because Farke is clearly not willing to give Mateo Joseph a chance, and Joel Piroe has proven he isn’t a lone striker, while Bamford isn’t expected to be fit – so Georginio Rutter is the only likely option.
It’s not as though Rutter would be starting if he had this poor patch earlier in the season, but he’s proven this term that even when playing poorly, he can produce a moment to win a match, and Farke will be counting on that.