Leeds United’s miserable start to 2020 continued last weekend, when they were beaten by Wigan Athletic.
The defeat was the Whites’ third loss in five games in 2020 in the Championship, and they next have a tough fixture against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are a point behind leaders West Bromwich Albion, but the gap to third-placed Fulham is just three points, while Saturday’s opponents are just four points behind Leeds.
The Whites need to win tricky games like these if they stand any chance of getting promoted to the Premier League.
Early Leeds United Team News
January signings Ian Poveda and Jean-Kévin Augustin were involved in Leeds’ U23 game against Sheffield Wednesday, both playing 45 minutes.
Jamie Shackleton, who played the last few minutes in the win against Millwall, also played 45 minutes of the game. All three of them should be involved in Saturday’s game against Forest.
Kalvin Phillips will be out due to suspension, while Barry Douglas and Adam Forshaw are set to miss the game due to injury.
Let’s take a look at the possible Leeds United lineup for the game against Nottingham Forest:
Predicted Leeds United Lineup vs Nottingham Forest
Goalkeeper
Kiko Casilla’s error led to Leeds conceding the only goal in their defeat to Wigan. But despite that costly error, he should keep his place in the Leeds United lineup.
Defence
We could see one change being made to the Leeds defence from last weekend’s match, with Stuart Dallas moving to left-back in place of Ezgjan Alioski.
Ben White and Liam Cooper should continue as the two centre-backs, while Luke Ayling should retain his right-back spot in the Leeds United lineup.
Midfield
Dallas’ move to left-back means that one of Tyler Roberts or Jamie Shackleton could play in midfield for Leeds. Roberts came on in the 64th minute against Wigan, replacing Alioski, and we could Bielsa making the same change. Mateusz Klich should play in the deep role that Kalvin Phillips usually plays, while Pablo Hernandez will play ahead of him in midfield.
Shackleton and Jordan Stevens are other options for Bielsa in midfield.
Attack
Jack Harrison and Helder Costa troubled the Wigan defence last week, and they should keep their places in the Leeds United lineup. New signing Ian Poveda is an option for Bielsa, but he may have to wait his turn.
Patrick Bamford has scored two goals in his last seven games in all competitions, with both goals coming against Millwall. He will have to start scoring once again as Jean-Kévin Augustin is waiting in the wings to take his spot.
Bielsa may not throw Augustin into the first team so quickly, but the Frenchman should make the Leeds bench.
