Daniel Farke has named his Leeds United line-up to take on Aston Villa this afternoon
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
14:00, 21 Feb 2026
Anton Stach
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Anton Stach(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Daniel Farke has decided to drop Jaka Bijol from his Leeds United XI to take on Aston Villa with James Justin playing at right-centre-back once more.
Pascal Struijk comes back in following his recovery from a hip issue that had caused him to miss the last two games, but Bijol is the fall guy despite Justin playing 120 minutes against Birmingham City last weekend.
Gabriel Gudmundsson also gets the nod on the left having played all of extra time at the Blues, while Jayden Bogle - who was initally rotated onto the bench at the Blues - comes back in on the right flank, having played further forward against Chelsea last time out.
Karl Darlow comes back in between the sticks. Lucas Perri's FA Cup heorics last weekend were praised by Farke but he indicated post-match that the pecking order would not be changing as a result.
In midfield, Anton Stach comes straight back into the starting XI after misisng the last three games with his own hip problem with Ethan Ampadu sitting as the anchor alongside Ilia Gruev.
Up front, Dominic Calvert-Lewin hunts for his 11th goal of the season with Brenden Aaronson playing off him in his hybrid supporting striker role. Daniel James is named on the bench with Noah Okafor out for at least a fortnight, possibly four weeks, with his hamstring injury.
Following his nightmare full debut last Sunday, Facundo Buonanotte is left out of the squad entirely.
XI: Darlow; Justin, Rodon, Struijk; Bogle, Stach, Ampadu, Gruev, Gudmundsson; Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Perri, James, Longstaff, Piroe, Nmecha, Bijol, Tanaka, Bornauw, Gnonto.
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