Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has a few selection headaches ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brighton. However, the German head coach will create a major controversy if he decides to change his backline from the win against West Ham last weekend.
The Whites came back to winning ways last weekend with a 2-0 victory over West Ham at Elland Road. Farke and the team needed that result to boost their confidence after back-to-back Premier League defeats.
Most Read on The Leeds Press
Farke was forced to make a couple of changes to the starting eleven due to fitness concerns and illness in certain players. Ao Tanaka replaced Anton Stach in the middle, and Jaka Bijol made his Premier League debut in place of Pascal Struijk, who was struggling with illness.
The Leeds boss is delighted that everyone in his squad is now fit and available for the Brighton trip, but this could also mean that Farke could go back to the players whom he really trusts in the starting eleven.
Daniel Farke risks backlash with Leeds United team decision
Bijol made his Premier League debut against West Ham and produced a solid performance at the heart of the Leeds defence in the win at Elland Road.
Struijk was taken out of the team due to illness, but he made a few costly errors in the previous game, which had already cost Leeds Premier League points.
However, the Leeds manager revealed that everyone is fit and raring to go, which could mean that a return to type for Farke against Brighton.
The German head coach is known for consistency in team selection and does not really like to tinker with a winning combination. But he also likes to trust a small group of players.
Struijk was instrumental in getting Leeds promoted and was the preferred centre-back choice alongside Joe Rodon.
A few poor performances and illness meant that Bijol got his opportunity. However, there is always a chance that the Dutchman could return against Brighton.
Bijol getting dropped would be unfair
The Slovenian had to wait a couple of months for his Premier League debut and produced a solid performance against West Ham.
Bijol brought aerial domination to the Leeds defence and completely nullified any threat in the air inside his own penalty box.
Bijol’s defensive stats against West Ham
Tackles (Won) Clearances Aerial Duels (Won) Recoveries
2 (2) 10 3 (3) 5
He was very good at clearing loose balls in and around the penalty box, had the recovery pace to control threatening attacks, and was overall a solid presence in the middle of the defence.
Struijk is Farke’s preferred player, but Bijol did nothing wrong to get out of the team against Brighton. He deserves to build on his debut performance this weekend.
The Leeds boss will make a huge mistake if he brings back Struijk into the team, as it would spark allegations of bias and favouritism towards certain players.
Leeds do not need such distractions at this stage of the season.
Related Topics