Inside Elland Road: Brenden Aaronson praise
Leeds United head to the City Ground on Sunday for what looks to be a huge Premier League meeting.
Former goalkeeper Shay Given expects Nottingham Forest to improve their defending of set-pieces under Sean Dyche just in time to face Leeds United.
Leeds head to the City Ground on Sunday looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Brighton last time out. The Whites barely laid a glove on their hosts as Danny Welbeck and a Diego Gomez brace condemned them to a fourth defeat in five away matches - all of which they failed to score in.
With firepower lacking in attack, Leeds have often relied on set-pieces to bring goals with Joe Rodon already on two for the season, having struck up a great connection with corner taker Sean Longstaff. And weekend hosts Forest have been very vulnerable from dead ball situations, with themselves and West Ham both conceding nine times already.
The early-season strugglers conceded from another corner in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United, with Casemiro unmarked to head home relatively easily. But Dyche is expected to get a handle on his side’s set-piece frailties, potentially in time for Leeds on Sunday.
“Sean Dyche is renowned for set plays for and against,” Given told BBC Radio Five’s Monday Night Club podcast. “I mean, the first goal, it was a simple, yes, it shouldn’t have been a corner. I think we all agree on that.
“But at that stage, then, you have to get your focus back, concentrate on what’s happening in the game. I think it felt like the Nottingham Forest players sort of switched off for that brief second because it was a decent ball in by Fernandes, and Casemiro seemed to just stand, jump and head it in.
“It was the most basic sort of goal you will see from an attacking point of view, probably all season. But from a defensive point of view, you wouldn’t see that in any league. It was so poor from a Nottingham Forest point of view to concede such an easy goal, really. So you would think Sean Dyche would get a handle on that, and maybe the set-up next week might be different.”
Read More
Leeds United hoping to exploit Nottingham Forest weakness
Whether Dyche has enough time on the training pitch to improve things this week remains to be seen, with his side in midweek European action before hosting Leeds on Sunday. Forest face Sturm Graz in Austria on Thursday evening and have to travel there and back before welcoming Daniel Farke’s side to the City Ground.
Rodon will certainly be hoping that midweek fixture prevents Forest from improving at set-pieces before Sunday, with the 28-year-old providing a real threat this season. He’s already successfully met Longstaff corners against Bournemouth and West Ham, and it could easily have been more.
Leeds recruited over the summer with set-pieces in mind, welcoming physically dominant players like Jaka Bijol, Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to West Yorkshire. And Farke will hope they can exploit their hosts' vulnerabilities in what looks set to be a huge bottom-of-the-table clash on Sunday.
Continue Reading