The pressure is growing on Daniel Farke to get a result after a third defeat in four Premier League games last time out, ahead of Leeds United’s trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
As of now, Daniel Farke is not believed to be under any immediate pressure. However, that could change if Farke’s Leeds drop into the bottom three, with an incredibly tough run of fixtures on the horizon.
For now, Leeds go to Forest and take on a Sean Dyche side that has won one of his four opening games. A win against Porto has since been followed by draws against Manchester United and Sturm Graz.
Forest were beaten by Bournemouth after the opening win over Porto, but have since drawn twice. On Thursday night, Dyche’s men were in Austria but drew 0-0. Morgan Gibbs-White missed a penalty.
Attention turns to Sunday as Leeds look to put an end to their miserable away form, with Forest only having three days to prepare. In terms of injuries, Leeds are in a good position, but there are doubts.
Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Daniel Farke provides update on Leeds star Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Dominic Calvert-Lewin left the field of play early against Brighton, with Adam Pope reporting the striker had a “slight injury”. Willy Gnonto is back in training after a hernia operation, but was missing at Brighton.
Jayden Bogle complained of illness at Brighton, but will have had eight days to recover. On Friday, Farke spoke to reporters and gave an update on the injury status of his squad, going into Sunday’s fixture.
Farke confirmed that Calvert-Lewin will be a late call and has been undergoing rehab. The German boss also confirmed £5m summer signing Sebastiaan Bornauw has a minor knee injury, but Gnonto is fine.
Sebastiaan Bornauw ahead of Leeds' clash vs Man United.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
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“Adductor injury. Little strain. It will be a tight race, we will make a late call, he is doing his rehab, he is progressing well but he is not in training yet. We still have a couple of days to make a decision,” he said.
“We won’t take any risks, it will be a late decision. He is a question mark. “On Sebastiaan Bornauw, Farke said: “He got a little hit on his MCL, a little question mark on his availability. But everyone else is fine.”
On Gnonto: “Willy was out for a long time with calf and hernia surgery. He’s back in training for two weeks, you can see him growing, he’s available. We will see if we take him, there’s no risks.”
Nottingham Forest’s injury issues ahead of Leeds United clash
Ahead of Forest’s trip to Sturm Graz, Dyche was without six players. Chris Wood was a doubt for the clash while Douglas Luiz was missing with a hamstring injury, joining another four players definitely missing.
Ola Aina, Angus Gunn, Dilane Bakwa and Oleksandr Zinchenko will definitely miss Sunday’s clash, as they continue to recover from long-term issues. But Dyche says Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi could be fit.
A boost for Dyche, who also confirmed ahead of Sturm Graz that Luiz is due to be on the sidelines a bit longer. Certainly, the injury issues are deeper at Forest than they are at Elland Road at the moment.
For Leeds, Farke will have to make a decision up front if Calvert-Lewin is not able to play. It will be a straight shootout between Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe, with the likelihood being Nmecha starts.