Leeds United have a tough task on their hands when they resume league action this weekend. Daniel Farke’s team are away to Fulham on Saturday, hoping to shake off their woes on the road.
The Whites are winless away from home this season, and both results have not been the best. Leeds were battered 5-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates, with the Whites also suffering a shock exit from the EFL Cup at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.
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Farke will be boosted by the return of Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu to training this week. The duo could make the matchday squad; unlike goalkeeper Lucas Perri who has been ruled out. Fulham have also been given a huge boost as their trio of new attacking signings are ready for action this Saturday.
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Journalist discusses Leeds United star’s fitness
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
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Since arriving at Leeds, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is yet to start a single game. He has come off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle. Journalist Graham Smyth has said what Daniel Farke needs to do with the striker to make sure he’s available for most of this campaign:
“I don’t see why not at this stage. He’s a month into team training, isn’t he? He didn’t have pre-season.” he said on the Inside Elland Road podcast.
“They will be cautious with him because if he breaks down earlier in the season, then the decision to sign him suddenly looks pretty terrible.
“You absolutely have to manage him and you have to make sure that you get the most possible minutes out of him across the season. You can’t just think we need a striker for Fulham.
“We need a striker that can play a lot of minutes between now and the end of the season. So I think if they do take that decision, they’ll be very, very careful with it.”
Is Calvert-Lewin the solution up top?
When fit, he is the most experienced player in the squad. Whether he can re-capture the quality that saw him valued around £80million in 2020 is a different story. Calvert-Lewin showed that he is still sharp and can get into scoring positions in the EFL cup exit, but his execution is not as sharp yet.
If Leeds can get him firing, he will be huge boost to their survival chances.
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