Leeds United will travel to Stamford Bridge tomorrow to face Chelsea without star centre-back Pascal Struijk, who has picked up a new injury.
Leeds remained six clear of the relegation zone this weekend as our win over Nottingham Forest was cancelled out by West Ham beating Burnley away.
Up next is a very tough away trip with Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea awaiting. The Blues are on a run of four successive Premier League wins heading into Tuesday night’s meeting.
Leeds United team news confirmed – Pascal Struijk and Anton Stach miss Chelsea, Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggles with illness
Daniel Farke’s pre-match press conference brought a frustrating setback for imperious centre-back Pascal Struijk. The Dutchman put a rough day against Arsenal behind him to put in a superb showing against Forest, but has paid the price with a hip flexor issue.
It was revealed by the Leeds boss that Struijk joins Anton Stach on the sidelines for this game on Tuesday, prompting a re-think at the back.
Elsewhere, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been suffering with illness in the days after his inventive 10th goal of the season.
More minutes in the tank for Dan James could see him involved in more than just a cameo away at the Bridge. Jaka Bijol, having been an unused sub on Friday, could be a solution for Struijk’s absence.
Daniel Farke scratches his head over Leeds United’s Pascal Struijk absence v Chelsea
Losing Struijk is a big blow. As much as plenty of Leeds fans don’t like to give him credit for whatever reason, he’s been integral to our success since that win over Chelsea back in December.
Not only has his defensive side improved a lot in a back three, but his aerial quality and buildup play has been vital. How we replace our only left-footed centre-back is a head-scratcher for Farke.
“The worst thing is we miss a player in red hot form,” Farke told the press, per the YEP.
“Pascal was a rock in the last weeks, a pity he’s not available, also the only left-footed centre-back. If you play a right-footer there it’s different passing angles. Also his strength in the air is quite important.
“It changes everything a little but not like we have to change our whole approach. Not ideal to not have him but on this level it happens, we need to find good solutions.”
How do Leeds United react to Pascal Struijk blow against Chelsea?
I think we all know what the obvious response is to losing Struijk against Chelsea, and it’s bringing Bijol in.
Bijol is our best centre-back and we’ve missed him during this spell he’s had on the sidelines, so having him back for this tough away game is ideal, albeit at the cost of losing Struijk.
However, I would absolutely not be putting Bijol straight in for Struijk on the left side of the back three. When Bijol first replaced Struijk in our back four, all fans baying for Struijk’s head quickly realised that he was very important to our buildup, and putting a right-footer there was asking for trouble.
To me, it’s either got to be the relatively-both-footed James Justin shuffling across, or Justin goes to left-wing-back and Gabriel Gudmundsson plays narrower.
Gudmundsson plays in Struijk’s position a lot for Sweden’s national team, so it’s not an alien position to him, and allows us a left-footer to keep our buildup intact.
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