Leeds United make the trip to Hull City this weekend and changes are sure to be on the agenda for Daniel Farke after an underwhelming display on New Year’s Day, plus the quick turnaround between games.
Leeds entered New Year’s Day top of the pile and looking to extend their gap over Burnley and Sheffield United, but missed the chance to create a five-point gap as they were pegged back late on by Blackburn Rovers.
They boast a three-point lead coming into today’s round of fixtures, as they take on 22nd-placed Hull City at the MKM Stadium.
Out of all the clubs in the Championship, Leeds are probably the most likely to come through such hectic parts of the fixture list without many issues, given the squad depth boasted by Daniel Farke.
It doesn’t make the festive period any less tiring for the Leeds players and manager, and he spoke about that following the draw to Blackburn. Farke said (via LeedsLive):
“It’s exhausting to be honest. You always have to be switched on to prepare for the next opponent. It always helps when you have pretty good results like we have done in the last weeks. The mood is good and you see the progress.
“Once you’re top of the league, it’s always an enjoyable situation but there’s still lots of work and you have to be pretty switched on.
“It’s a busy, tough period in terms of workload but I’m used to it. I know December and January are tough months in the Championship.”
With that, it’s fair to expect a few changes to the side that drew on New Year’s Day, and the stagnant attacking play from that game at Elland Road ought to be tweaked.
Dan James has been outstanding again this season and is a crucial part of the side, but found it very difficult to create chances of impact the game in any way against a stubborn Blackburn defence:
Dan James v BlackburnMinutes played90Shots (on target)3 (1)xG0.09Pass success22/28 (79%)Cross success1/11Dribble success0/2Possession losses25
Hull City might represent a weaker defence that James could have more joy against, but the reintroduction of Willy Gnonto and Largie Ramazani to the side is something to consider.
James was one of a few that wasn’t good enough against Blackburn, and when you have two players of that quality on the bench, they have to be brought in to start in the following game.
25 ball losses: Daniel Farke may need to axe Leeds United favourite v Hull after NYD stinker
