The Aviva Stadium is the scene of the final act of pre-season for Leeds United ahead of their opening Premier League fixture against Everton nine days later.
After an encouraging first outing against Manchester United in Stockholm followed decent run-outs against lower tier opposition in Germany before Villarreal provided a trickier test for the Whites. AC Milan will be their toughest yet, on paper anyway.
The 51,700-seater ground is set to be dominated by Leeds fans, who have a mass and long-time following across Ireland. It may feel like a home game and offer a glimpse into what the expanded Elland Road could feel like once expansion works have been completed.
Supporters will be keen to see who makes the line-up and who is fit enough. Lucas Perri, Jack Harrison and Jayden Bogle all missed the draw with Villarreal with setbacks and are doubts. Onlookers may also be looking out for other elements.
Line-up and formation
Taking injuries aside, we could see who will start against Everton this weekend. With Jaka Bijol suspended due to his red card on the final day of the Italian season, Pascal Struijk looks set to partner Joe Rodon at Elland Road, so could also start in Dublin.
But in most other positions, Farke can pick his first choices among current options. He has adopted a 4-3-3 formation for the majority of pre-season and it would seem that this is his new set-up should this be the case again in Dublin.
Therefore, debate is prompted over who starts in midfield alongside Ethan Ampadu, with Sean Longstaff, Anton Stach and Ao Tanaka all seemingly vying for two places. Then there is a question to be answered over the left wing pick, too.
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In conjunction with this is the type of tactics deployed - for example, Tanaka has often pushed up as a temporary number 10 within the midfield three. Another scheme to look out for is at full-back.
Throughout pre-season, these flankers retained high positions much like last season, though spaces have been left in behind and surely Leeds cannot adopt this ploy against most opposition next term. With Milan providing a sterner test, we could see Farke’s true full-back tactics revealed.
Transfer needs
While these will already be evident, the match could highlight which areas need more immediate focus. The club are looking at a new winger, striker, full-back and possibly an attacking midfielder.
Farke sent a clear message to the board and fans following the draw with Villarreal, pointing to the need for more attacking reinforcements. Leeds scored multiple times against lower-league German opposition, fine, but against Man United and Villarreal only one goal went in across both games.
Meanwhile, Bogle’s injury and the alternative options of Sam Byram and Isaac Schmidt have highlighted the lack of quality of depth at full-back. And whoever is chosen at left wing has a mission to quell the nerves of fans - a bigger job for nobody but Harrison if it is him, and if that is possible.
Daniel Farke’s mood
Farke was clearly less than settled following last weekend’s friendly with his transfer message. There is an argument to be had that United, as things stand, have a weaker frontline than they ended last season with.
No new faces are set to come in before the flight across the Irish Sea but the manager will be eager for more recruits to be captured once back in Yorkshire. Several names are of interest to Leeds, including Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester City and Strasbourg’s Dilane Bakwa.
Liverpool talent Ben Doak, 19, is a name that has been circulating too. Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz is still the number one striker target. But little significant movement has happened in recent days.
Regardless of the result - barring, perhaps, a walloping scoreline - Farke’s mood after the final pre-season game will offer insight into his thoughts about where the squad is ahead of the season opener.
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