The last two defeats have hit Leeds United hard, and could take a lot of effort to recover from. On Wednesday night, the situation at the bottom of the table has changed significantly.
With both Nottingham Forest and West Ham picking up points, Leeds are now in danger. The gap between the Whites and the relegation zone is just three points, which means failing to lose their next league game will pose a serious problem. Losing to Manchester City was expected, but in that game Leeds United put up a fight.
It was the loss to Sunderland that everyone seems to be furious about, and rightly so; the visitors created almost nothing and only won via a goal from the penalty spot.
£12m Leeds United man can stake his claim this weekend
The last two games have followed a very similar pattern; Leeds start well, dominate the game for large parts and fail to take their chances. As soon as the opponent scores, the game plan falls flat and it looks like the team do not know what to do sometimes. After Tuesday, some players in the starting lineup need to come under scrutiny – Ilia Gruev being one of them. Against Sunderland, he was poor and failed to make an impact.
| Stat | Performance |
|---|---|
| Minutes Played | 62′ |
| Passes Completed | 34/38 (89%) |
| Possession Lost | 5 |
| Tackles Won | 0 |
| Ground Duels Won | 0 |
| Fouls | 2 |
This weekend should see Sean Longstaff return to the lineup for the FA Cup game. Given how well Longstaff played in the win over Birmingham, it is a surprise to see how he has not return to being first choice in midfield. A solid display from Longstaff against Norwich could definitely see him replace Gruev and take his place back in the lineup.
READ MORE: Elland Road insider blasts ‘naive’ Leeds United following frustrating Sunderland defeat
Daniel Farke needs freshness in the team
After two difficult results, it seems like Daniel Farke needs to change something in this team to get back to normalcy. Leeds are good and can scrape results against any team, as they have showed over the past few months. Hopefully what happened this past week is just a blip.
But there needs to be some freshness in the lineup going forward; the midfield looked stale on Tuesday night, and the attack has been misfiring over the past few games. This is where Sean Longstaff’s return could be useful – he brings dynamism to the midfield and is a threat from range. He could provide some goalscoring ability, which the club have struggled to do over the last few games.
