Leeds United manager Daniel Farke
Leeds United are back in FA Cup action on Sunday, with the Whites travelling to take on Birmingham in the fourth round of the competition.
United got this stage of the competition after seeing off Derby back in January with a routine 3-1 victory at Pride Park, with goals from Willy Gnonto, Ao Tanaka, and James Justin booking Leeds’ place in the fourth round.
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Since that game, Leeds have been in excellent form in the Premier League, losing just one of their last five games whilst picking up two wins in the process.
However, one member of Daniel Farke’s squad will be furious at his manager if what Farke said about the upcoming FA Cup clash with Birmingham is anything to go by.
Facundo Buonanotte at risk of being benched against Birmingham
Buonanotte’s stint at Leeds has been far from ideal so far after signing for the Whites on loan in January, with the Argentinian yet to receive any substantial minutes in a white shirt.
Naturally, the 21-year-old, whose value is estimated to be around £15.6million according to Transfermarkt, would expect to be included in the starting XI to take on Birmingham to showcase to Farke and the supporters what he is truly capable of.
However, judging by Farke’s recent comments that he made in his press conference ahead of the game, it does not appear to be a guarantee that Buonanotte will be handed his first start for Leeds.
“Last time around, I think it was more necessary to rotate because the FA Cup game was at the end of a long streak of many, many games, and the turnaround was so quick.
“I doubt we need to rotate that much for this game, but we will see, so we will make this decision on Saturday afternoon at the earliest,” said Farke.
If the German ultimately does opt to rotate just a few players and Buonanotte finds himself on the bench again against Birmingham, then it will be a damming indictment as to where Buonanotte currently is in the pecking order at Leeds.
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Dan James’ return is bad news for Facundo Buonanotte
With James recently returning from his long-term injury, there is now even more competition to occupy that right-wing role for Leeds.
In Leeds’ two most recent fixtures, against Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, James has been subbed for a total of 20 minutes
Buonanotte, on the other hand, was left out of the squad against Forest and remained glued to the bench for the entirety of the clash at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea (Sofascore)
Given Farke’s recent comments about potentially not having to rotate too much, James could be in line for more gametime either off the bench or as a potential replacement for Aaronson, for example, if Farke chooses to rest the American.
This would be disastrous for Buonanotte if it were the case, as barring injuries to some of the regular starters, the Fa Cup tie with Birmingham may be one of the only opportunities the Argentinian has to start a game for Leeds.
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