Daniel Farke has named his Leeds United starting XI to take on Fulham this afternoon
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
13:57, 17 Jan 2026Updated 13:58, 17 Jan 2026
Karl Darlow
View Image
Karl Darlow starts(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Daniel Farke has decided to drop Lucas Perri and bring in Karl Darlow for Leeds United's clash with Fulham this afternoon.
Farke has been publicly critical of summer signing Perri for errors in recent weeks, in particular the equaliser against Manchester United and the Newcastle United's winner. Perri being on the bench suggests the decision is not injury related.
Meanwhile, new January signing Facundo Buonanotte is ready enough to make the bench and be included in today's Leeds matchday squad.
Loanee Buonanotte only arrived on Thursday, having had his loan at Chelsea cut short with Brighton & Hove Albion agreeing to send him to Elland Road for the rest of the seson.
Despite only being used as a rotation player, Buonanotte's training with Chelsea meant he has kept up a good fitness level - and has made the cut.
Farke is having to deal without two key players for today's game with Jaka Bijol and Anton Stach both absent. Stach has an adductor strain and Bijol has a hamstring issue that may take time to heal.
As a result, Ilia Gruev starts alongside Ethan Ampadu in midfield while Brenden Aaronson could drop back into the centre of the park. And James Justin replaces Bijol in the right of the back three, with Joe Rodon central and Pascal Struijk on left-centre.
Jayden Bogle returns from a three-game absence due to his calf injury to begin at right-back with Gabriel Gudmundsson looking to correct his last-gasp own goal in the reverse fixture back in September.
At the other end, Dominic Calvert-Lewin - named Premier League player of the month for December - leads the line with Noah Okafor alongside him.
XI: Darlow; Bogle, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Gruev, Ampadu, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin, Okafor.
Subs: Perri, Bornauw, Byram, Longstaff, Tanaka, Buonanotte, Gnonto, Piroe, Nmecha.
Here at LeedsLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the bestLeeds Unitedcoverage and analysis.
Article continues below
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest Leeds news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clickinghereto subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Clickhereto be sent all the day's biggest stories.