Leeds United travel to the London Stadium this evening to take on West Ham United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after the international break.
The Whites have the chance to book a place at Wembley for the first time since they were beaten by Southampton in the Championship play-off final at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
Daniel Farke has only reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup once before in his managerial career, at Norwich City, and that ended in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United after extra-time.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke
Hopefully, the German head coach will reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in his career by masterminding a win at the London Stadium today.
The former Norwich boss may look to strike a balance between rotating the team to reward players who have done well in the cup so far, whilst putting out a strong enough team to beat the Hammers, which could see Brenden Aaronson drop out.
Why Brenden Aaronson should be dropped by Leeds
Irrespective of whether it is a Premier League or FA Cup game, Aaronson should be dropped from the starting line-up because of his recent performances for the club.
brenden-aaronson-leeds-villa
The USMNT star has not delivered a goal or an assist since he scored two goals in a 4-3 loss to Newcastle United at St. James' Park on 7th January in the Premier League.
The American flop has played 13 games for club and country without scoring a goal or providing an assist since that defeat to the Magpies, despite starting ten of those matches.
Aaronson started in the 0-0 draw with Brentford at Elland Road before the international break. In that goalless clash, the attacking midfielder registered zero shots on target and 0.01 xA in 68 minutes before he was withdrawn from the action.
brenden-aaronson-leeds
He has not offered enough of a threat as a scorer or as a creator of goals in the number ten or wide role for Farke, as evidenced by his lack of goal contributions since January.
The former Salzburg star's lack of end product at the top end of the pitch in recent months suggests that he should not be a regular starter anymore, which is why Farke should drop him for this match.
The Leeds star who should replace Aaronson against West Ham
The FA Cup provides the German head coach with an opportunity to play stars who may not get as many minutes in the Premier League,a and he could replace Aaronson by unleashing the team's new Mateusz Klich.
mateusz-klich-leeds-championship
During Marcelo Bielsa's time at Elland Road, the Polish central midfielder provided an attacking threat with 24 goals and 21 assists in 195 appearances in all competitions, but he did not always start - coming off the bench 28 times in three Premier League seasons.
Now, Ao Tanaka looks like the new Klich in West Yorkshire. He has only started seven of his 21 Premier League appearances this season, yet has scored two goals from midfield.
Tanaka, who was described as a "cult figure" by reporter Beren Cross last season, started 37 of his 43 appearances in the Championship title-winning campaign for Leeds, scoring five goals and providing two assists.
24/25 Championship Ao Tanaka
Starts 37
xG 3.60
Goals 5
Big chances created 2
xA 3.86
Assists 2
The Japan international has scored seven goals in 44 league starts for the Whites since his move from Fortuna Dusseldorf in the summer of 2024, showing that he offers a decent goal threat when starting matches in the middle of the park.
Tanaka has found the transition to Premier League football difficult, losing 55% of his duels in the division this term, but he still has the technical ability on the ball to make things happen in moments.
Tanaka-Leeds-Liverpool
This FA Cup game against a team in the relegation zone in the Premier League, though, is the perfect chance to hand the Japanese star an opportunity to shine without worrying about how it may affect their battle against dropping down to the second tier.
That is why Farke must drop Aaronson to unleash Tanaka in the middle of the park alongside Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach, as he could provide a threat at the top end of the pitch.
Just as Klich did during his time under Bielsa, the former 2. Bundesliga star could be a difference-maker for the Whites with his ability to chip in at the top end of the pitch.
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