Leeds United sacked Thomas Christiansen after their 1-4 loss at home at the hands of Cardiff City. Christiansen has been replaced by Paul Heckingbottom and the former Barnsley boss would line his men up to face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday.
The Whites are placed at the 10th spot in the league table with 44 points to their name from 30 games. The race for promotion to the Premier League is getting tougher and the players need to start delivering big time in the upcoming games.
Heckingbottom will be without the services of Samu Saiz, Gaetano Berardi and Liam Cooper due to suspension but Pontus Jansson is expected to start. Here is how Leeds United are expected to line up against Chris Wilder’s side.
Goalkeeper
Felix Weidwald is expected to be stationed between the sticks once again. Although Leeds have conceded a lot of goals of late, the custodian has been quite decent and can hardly be blamed for his side’s current predicament.
Defence
Pontus Jansson is expected to be in contention to start the game and he is expected to be stationed alongside Matthew Pennington at the heart of their side’s backline. Berardi’s absence would be a massive disappointment and Heckingbottom is expected to go with Tom Pearce at the right-back slot.
Laurens De Bock has plied his trade in a commendable manner after his move to Elland Road last month and he is anticipated to take up the left-back position. More often than not, it is Leeds United’s defence that has appeared questionable and it is about time they get back on track.
Midfield
The central midfield is expected to be marshalled by the duo of Adam Forshaw and Kalvin Phillips. While Forshaw has been fluent in the middle of the park, the Yorkshire based club have missed the tackling and resilience that Phillips offers and given that he would be back from suspension, he might get the nod to start.
From the left side of the midfield, Ezgjan Alioski is likely to start. Alioski was regularly used by the former manager, Christiansen and he needs to make an impression under Leeds United’s new manager. From the other side of the midfield, Stuart Dallas should start and apart from making offensive contributions, he needs to cater to his side’s defensive duties as well.
Attack
Up front, Pierre-Michel Lasogga might start alongside Kemar Roofe. On many occasions, Lasogga has been found isolated and bereft of service and by teaming him up with Roofe, the Peacocks will get a formidable strike force against the Blades.
