Leeds United are going to be without Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach for the trip to Manchester City this Saturday.
United’s trip to Manchester City this weekend already looks a daunting proposition. Pep Guardiola’s side are eyeing a bounce-back after successive defeats and resting 10 players in midweek, but Leeds have their own issues too.
Daniel Farke’s pre-match press conference brought a new crisis to contend with in the middle of midfield.
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Manchester City v Leeds United: Daniel Farke confirms Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach injury blows
Anton Stach’s collision with Emi Martinez against Aston Villa forced him off in the first half last time out, as United used a concussion sub to replace the German. As a result, he’s forced to follow protocol and miss this weekend’s game at Man City.
Meanwhile, Sean Longstaff picked up a calf injury in the same game as he completed 90 minutes. Farke confirmed that the summer signing is due to miss the next four-to-six weeks with injury now.
Sean Longstaff ruled out for at least a month at Leeds United. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
Longstaff’s new setback leaves him expected to be out until January, meaning he’ll miss at least six games, potentially seven or more if his absence trickles over to the new year.
New headache for Leeds United with Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach off set-piece duties
Not only is Leeds’ injury crisis concentrated in their midfield right now, but they’re also facing another issue, and it’s set pieces.
Longstaff has been a revelation for Leeds since taking over from Stach on corner and free-kick duty. His two assists so far this season have come from corners onto the head of Joe Rodon, while he contributed to our opener against Villa, as his cross led to Lukas Nmecha’s goal.
According to FBRef, Longstaff is 11th in the entire division for key passes (passes leading to a shot) with 20 so far. That’s more than Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, and Reece James, and most of those will come from his wicked dead-ball delivery.
Longstaff (20) and Stach (15) rank first and second in Leeds’ squad for key passes, from a total of 102. So, Leeds are missing two players responsible for 34% of their chance creation this season.
That sort of routine chance creation going missing for Leeds spells trouble, and leaves Farke now looking to a third-choice set piece taker. Potential options for Leeds include Dan James and Ao Tanaka, but finding the same consistency as Longstaff is a big ask.
Read more: What Daniel Farke has said about changing formation for Manchester City v Leeds United.