Friday night sees two under-pressure sides meet at Elland Road to do battle as Leeds United take on West Ham United, both having suffered 2-0 defeats in their previous matches.
Leeds come in off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Burnley, despite dominating the match. Micah Richards said Leeds were “excellent”, but Lesley Ugochukwu and Loum Tchaouna scored for Scott Parker’s Burnley.
Meanwhile, West Ham come into the game after playing on Monday night in a strange fixture pile-up that sees them play twice in midweek. West Ham were easily beaten by Brentford despite home advantage.
Matias Jensen and Igor Thiago both scored goals for Brentford but in truth, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side could have conceded four or five on the night. Two under-pressure sides set to face off under the lights.
Nuno Espirito Santo looks on during West Ham's loss to Brentford.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Leeds United injury round-up ahead of West Ham clash
Daniel Farke is under pressure to make changes on Friday night after the defeat to Burnley. But, Farke will have the benefit of now being able to make those changes, with several players returning from injury.
Lucas Perri was only on the bench against Burnley, with Farke confirming he lacked match fitness. Willy Gnonto is back in training after recovering from a calf injury and a minor operation on a hernia issue.
Dan James came off the bench against Burnley, way ahead of schedule and could now be ready to start. Noah Okafor and Harry Gray remain doubts ahead of the clash against West Ham, but there are options.
Predicted Leeds XI to face West Ham on Friday, three changes
Farke needs to make changes to get fans back onside ahead of Friday. The first could be in goal. Darlow kicked the ball out of play for Burnley’s first, and Tchaouna said Darlow “wasn’t ready” for the second.
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Darlow has failed to keep a clean sheet in his five Premier League appearances, while Perri has two in his three games. In defence, Aidy White believes Jaka Bijol will start ahead of Pascal Struijk at centre-back.
There have been calls for Ao Tanaka to start above Anton Stach in midfield but that is likely to remain the same. In attack, Jack Harrison should retain his spot with Noah Okafor and Willy Gnonto unlikely to start.
But on the right, Brenden Aaronson needs to be taken out of the firing line after his miss against Burnley, and that should convince Farke to start James, even if the Welshman is only able to last an hour or so.
Leeds XI v West Ham: Lucas Perri; Jayden Bogle, Joe Rodon, Jaka Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Ethan Ampadu, Anton Stach, Sean Longstaff; Dan James, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Harrison.