Leeds United welcome Nottingham Forest to Elland Road on Friday and Daniel Farke will hold his pre-game press conference this afternoon.
Leeds United have a huge bottom-of-the-table clash against Nottingham Forest on the horizon and ahead of that Friday night clash, Daniel Farke will speak with the media today.
The Whites are now above their upcoming opponents on goals scored alone, having lost 4-0 at home to Arsenal last time out. A disappointing performance handed Leeds their first Elland Road defeat since Aston Villa in November and just their second loss in 11 Premier League matches.
That defeat came without back-up striker Lukas Nmecha, who reported minor hamstring discomfort during the warm-up of last Monday’s 1-1 draw at Everton. Farke said last week the 27-year-old had a ‘good chance’ of being back in time to face Forest and will be expected to either confirm or deny his availability this afternoon.
Centre-back Jaka Bijol is also in with a chance of being involved on Friday, which would present a huge boost ahead of what is feeling like a must-win game. The Slovenian hasn’t featured since Derby County in the FA Cup almost four weeks ago after suffering a hamstring injury in training.
Having been out for a longer period, Bijol’s chances of a return on Friday are slimmer than Nmecha’s, with Farke admitting last week his towering defender is more likely to return after this weekend. He did admit there was a ‘little chance’ he’s involved against Forest, however, and there will be plenty of fingers crossed for a positive update today.
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And the Leeds boss will be expected to provide an update on James Justin, who was forced off at half-time against Arsenal due to a toe issue. Similarly, Daniel James is on the way back from a hamstring tendon injury that’s kept him out since November 29, having returned to training last week.
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Farke has regularly been ‘open and honest’ with his thoughts on transfer business but last week opted to keep his cards close to his chest. Post-window, he tends to lean towards the latter as nothing can be actioned now the window is closed, so it will be interesting to see what he’s got to say this time round.
With Forest arriving at Elland Road on Friday night, either them or Leeds will have a huge chance to steal an early march on their relegation rivals this weekend. West Ham United are due at Burnley on Saturday and will no doubt have a keen eye on goings on in LS11.
Having been the final game of a Premier League matchweek at Everton last week, Leeds are now first on the running order and Farke could be quizzed on the difference. He will also be given a chance to speak about the relegation fight and difficult fixture-run to come for his side post-Forest.
Daniel Farke is due to speak with the media at 1.30pm today. Stay tuned for live updates...
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