Leeds United are preparing for one of their toughest fixtures of the Premier League calendar, with the Whites set to get underway against Liverpool at Anfield this evening.
Having drawn with Liverpool at Elland Road back in December, Leeds are already doing battle with Arne Slot’s men in the reverse fixture a few weeks later. But this is a completely different Liverpool side now.
When Liverpool came to Elland Road, it was a defensively frail Reds side that were conceding goals for fun. Now, Leeds go to Anfield to face a side that have won their last four games in all competitions.
While Slot is without Mo Salah and Alexander Isak, this is a Liverpool side full of confidence again and Daniel Farke’s men will do incredibly well to maintain their unbeaten run of five Premier League games.
Especially because Leeds are without Joe Rodon. Farke confirmed in the week that Rodon has suffered an ankle ligament injury and will likely miss Leeds’ next four games, culminating in the Cup clash v Derby.
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Arne Slot and Daniel Farke
Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Confirmed Leeds United XI to face Liverpool, four change
Farke has had a decision to make this week. Does he simply throw a player in to replace Rodon? The German named Sebastiaan Bornauw, James Justin, and Sam Byram as potential options in his presser.
Bornauw is yet to start a league game and lacks Rodon’s maneuverability. Justin is a full-back and has only started once, while Byram has only managed seven minutes of league action in total, at Arsenal.
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Or, would Farke switch formation as he did at Sunderland? When Rodon came off, the situation was different when he brought Ao Tanaka on and switched to 4-3-3. Leeds had gone 1-0 down at the time.
Well, Leeds have now confirmed their starting line-up, and it is a shock. Farke has retained the 3-5-2 system, with Bornauw starting. But Ilia Gruev, Lukas Nmecha and James Justin are also in the XI.
They come in for Rodon of course, Jayden Bogle, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor. Farke’s decision to remove Calvert-Lewin from the starting XI is certainly an interesting one, at Anfield.
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Four changes, Calvert-Lewin on the bench!
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What Arne Slot has said about Leeds United’s tactics
Slot was very open in his press conference about Leeds’ tactical switch a few weeks ago at Elland Road. Liverpool was only the second match that Farke had started with 3-5-2, after the win over Chelsea.
But after conceding two early second-half goals, Farke switched to a 4-3-3 and it worked. It allowed Leeds to keep the ball higher up the pitch, attack more fluently and eventually, come from behind twice.
Slot said: “What I mainly took and take from it [the 3-3 draw] is that we struggled a lot, or much more, when they went to a four, when they started to play 4-3-3 in the last 20 minutes of the game.”
While that could be considered mind games from Slot, this fixture is completely different with Leeds lacking their best defender and the support of the crowd. Liverpool are expected to pick up a win.
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