Leeds United welcome Brentford to Elland Road for a huge Premier League clash this evening.
Leeds United have another huge Premier League game to look forward to this evening when they host Brentford. The Whites are in action before all three of their relegation rivals and will see tonight’s return to Elland Road as a great opportunity to open up some breathing space.
A hard-fought 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace last time out kept Leeds three points clear of 18th-placed West Ham. Daniel Farke’s side played the entire second-half with 10 men following Gabriel Gudmundsson’s controversial red card but defended with their lives to keep a rare away clean sheet.
That red card means Gudmundsson will miss this evening’s game against Brentford through suspension but with Leeds in good health overall, he is the only absentee. Noah Okafor had been out since mid-February with a hamstring injury and after returning to training last week, reported a hip problem.
Okafor was back in training again earlier this week and looks to have come through each session unharmed, with Farke revealing his Swiss winger will be available against Brentford. How many minutes he is able to play, however, remains to be seen and any impact could end up being from the bench.
With a fully-fit squad, Farke has some key selection decisions to make this evening. At home to Sunderland earlier this month, the Leeds manager’s decision to start Ilia Gruev alongside Ethan Ampadu came under question for maybe being too defensive and he certainly went more attacking at Palace.
Leeds United selection decisions vs Brentford
Lukas Nmecha came in alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin, albeit in more of a left-wing role with Brenden Aaronson on the right, but that line-up rarely got the chance to flourish before half-time changes were forced. Farke could give it another opportunity this evening.
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One likely change will see Jayden Bogle coming in for the suspended Gudmundsson, with Mr Versatile James Justin moving across to the left. His presence out wide means it will almost certainly be Joe Rodon, Jaka Bijol and Pascal Struijk in the back three.
Leeds are starting to approach must-win territory at home, given their dismal away record, having failed to take three Premier League points since a 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest over six weeks ago. A similar result this evening would send the Whites six clear of West Ham, who face Aston Villa on Sunday.
They face Brentford side who have won just one of their last five in the league, most recently blowing a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Wolves on Monday. Manager Keith Andrews revealed on Friday a late call will be made on the fitness of Mikkel Damsgaard.
Leeds welcome Brentford to Elland Road this evening with kick-off at 8pm. Stay tuned for build-up, team news and live updates...
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