Leeds United are a different team altogether when they play away from home, compared to when they are at Elland Road. Daniel Farke needs to find a way to be more resolute on the road.
Inquests into Leeds’ 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday largely come to the same conclusion: Daniel Farke got it wrong.
Individuals hardly carried out the game plan well, but the plan itself was fundamentally flawed and the Seagulls took full advantage from first minute to last.
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Does Daniel Farke need to avoid defeat vs Nottingham Forest to keep his Leeds United job?
11 points from 10 games suggests Leeds have enjoyed a solid start back in the Premier League. Should they maintain that record over 38 games, they’d end the campaign on around 41-42 points – surely survival?
The issue that Farke’s got is that return isn’t likely to be maintained heading into the remainder of 2025:
9/11: Nottingham Forest (A)
23/11: Aston Villa (H)
29/11: Manchester City (A)
3/12: Chelsea (H)
6/12: Liverpool (H)
14/12: Brentford (A)
21/12: Crystal Palace (H)
28/12: Sunderland (A)
Daniel Farke is under pressure to get results as Leeds United boss. (Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley)
If Leeds want to keep themselves out of the bottom three, they’ll need to find points in games where very few would reasonably expect them to.
Unfortunately for Farke, that means pressure naturally comes onto this Nottingham Forest trip. The Reds are one of the few sides below Leeds, and are therefore an opportunity to gain points from.
The worry for Farke, therefore, is that defeat to Sean Dyche’s men would drag us further towards the bottom three. What follows is a daunting fixture list. As a result, the manager would rapidly lose faith from the fanbase and probably from the board.
What does Daniel Farke need to do to stop growing pressure from forcing him out of the Leeds United job?
A chief concern of mine for Farke moving forward is whether he’s willing to learn from his own mistakes and adapt accordingly.
Many of Leeds’ defeats during his tenure can be attributed to decisions (team selection, subs, setup) recurring over and over. Losing 3-0 to Brighton seemed near-identical to losing 5-0 at Arsenal. Leeds tried playing out, got pressed to within an inch of their lives, and turned the ball over constantly in their own half, allowing the home side to dominate and win comfortably.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds United were comprehensively outplayed by Brighton. (Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley)
Leeds lined up in a 4-3-3 with Lucas Perri in goal, Jaka Bijol as a left-sided centre-back, Anton Stach on the bench, Brenden Aaronson on the right wing, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin isolated up top. None of that is geared towards playing short from the back and trying to work through Brighton’s well-regimented press.
Instead, we’ve got a squad that needs to play direct, getting the ball from back to front as quickly as possible, and getting bodies around Calvert-Lewin to ensure his aerial prowess and athleticism is supported well.
Having signed Perri, Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Sean Longstaff, Stach, Noah Okafor, Calvert-Lewin and others, you’d expect Leeds to be horrid to play against in away games. Going long, making the middle of the pitch as scrappy as possible, asking questions in behind et cetera. None of that happened.
Away at Forest, it needs to happen. They’re another side that will beat Leeds if we try to out-football them. As is the case for most sides on home turf against us.
The wildcard formation change that could spark Leeds United upturn
One thing that I think he needs to lean on in these tougher away games is a back three (or back five). Leeds’ squad is actually suited to it right now as well.
Given the lack of depth we have on the right, it might make sense for Leeds to actually focus their creativity out wide in their two flying full-backs Jayden Bogle and Gudmundsson:
A shift to a back three would bring Pascal Struijk back in. The Dutchman was dropped unsurprisingly after two sub-par showings, but at Brighton, his absence in buildup was so noticeable.
If Leeds want to have any rhythm in buildup, whether it’s short or long, you need Struijk playing. It’s a formidable three aerially, though.
As mentioned, the added license to get forward might be the making of Leeds’ two wing-backs here. And, they’re covered well by three midfielders that cover an enormous amount of ground forward and back.
Longstaff and Stach are crucial to making a 3-5-2 work, as you need bodies getting forward to support in the final third when it sticks. Then, up front you have Noah Okafor in closer proximity to Calvert-Lewin, which could benefit both.
Okafor can still drift out wide to the left, but operating as a second striker, allows Calvert-Lewin some support. It also would suit Joel Piroe much more to have bodies around him, should he be the option we look to.
Again, it’s a stretch to think Farke is going to go with a formation like this, especially in a high-stakes game like Sunday. But, there’s a world where this setup gets more out of this Leeds squad.
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