Leeds United succumbed to Ipswich Town last weekend as the Mick McCarthy’s side clinched a 1-0 win over the Whites at the Portman Road Stadium. The pressure to perform is certainly on Leeds and on Saturday, they host Millwall at the Elland Road.
The Yorkshire-based club have dropped to 7th in the Championship table and winning the upcoming league game holds of paramount importance. Here is how we expect Christiansen to dish out his starting line-up to face Millwall.
Defence
Felix Wiedwald is likely to start between the sticks as he has been pretty consistent for the Whites. Besides, Christiansen has preferred to use him in the league ahead of Andy Lonergan.
Luke Ayling is out for the rest of the season, so Gaetano Berardi would be a sensible option for the right-back slot as he will be able to offer some attacking tooth from the right. In the left-back position, Leeds United’s recent signing, Laurens De Bock might be given his first start.
At the heart of the defence, the duo comprising of Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper are expected to start. These two are more than capable of holding their own and provide the sturdiness at the back.
Midfield
Eunan O’Kane has been suspended following his clash with Jonas Knudsen in Leeds United’s 1-0 loss to Ipswich Town in their last fixture which earned him a red card. In his absence, Christiansen is likely to give Mateusz Klich the nod to start from the middle.
Ronaldo Vieira is still out with a knee injury, which implies that alongside Klich, we might see Kalvin Phillips in the central midfield once again. Klich and Phillips would be asked to not only shield the backline but also push the game forward.
Summer signing, Samu Saiz, is also suspended and once again, we expect to see Pablo Hernandez being employed in the no.10 slot. Hernandez does have the element of creativity and temerity in him and he was exciting to watch against the Tractor.
Attack
Up front, we could see Pierre-Michel Lasogga getting a start after coming off the bench in the last game. Kemar Roofe didn’t yield substantial outputs against Ipswich Town and it would make sense to start with Lasogga this time.
Ezgjan Alioski might get another start on the left-wing area whereas, on the other side, we expect to see Pawel Cibicki.
