Leeds United should be walking into the bet365 Stadium on Boxing Day with the confidence of beating a Stoke City side who are 19th in the league table. However, the Yorkshire giants will have to overcome several odds if they are to win today and walk away from Stoke with all three points.
The Whites are battling historical odds in pursuit of beating Stoke away from home later in the evening. Leeds have won only three of their ten away games this season and have not won at the bet365 Stadium since 2019.
Leeds also have a bad record on Boxing Day and have not won a game on English football’s marquee date since 2019, which further shows the task ahead of the Whites tonight.
Their home form has ensured Leeds are one of the favourites to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League but their away form is now threatening to bog them down.
Leeds are underperforming badly on the road compared to teams who got promoted to the top flight from the Championship in recent years and have some work to do in the coming weeks and months.
Their key problem away from home has been the fact that they have not looked as fluid on the road as they have at home this season and they are not scoring enough goals.
Leeds are the top scorers in the Championship but only 12 of their 41 goals have come on the road and they need to improve their creativity and ruthlessness in front of goal away from home.
Farke may need to take a radical decision on the make-up of his forward line to make Leeds less predictable on the road.
Leeds United should consider playing two strikers
Joel Piroe has been the chosen number 9 over the last few months but he has not scored in close to a month and only two of his seven goals have come on the road this season.
The Dutchman registered an assist in the 4-0 win over Oxford United last weekend but he is struggling to notch up the numbers as a striker this term.
He likes getting involved in the build-up play and is not a natural number 9, which suits the style of play that Farke prefers his teams to operate in.
However, Leeds United need a shake-up away from home and it would not be a bad idea to introduce another striker to the team from the start.
Piroe already plays as a playmaker and can seamlessly drop to the number 10 role while Mateo Joseph can occupy the central defenders as the number 9.
It will add Joseph’s physicality and energy to the frontline while not taking away the creativity that Piroe brings to the table as a playmaking forward.
What about Patrick Bamford?
Farke recently hinted that Patrick Bamford could get more game time in the coming weeks if he can maintain his fitness levels.
The striker came on in Leeds’ 1-1 draw against Preston and impressed in his 25-minute cameo while looking fitter and sharper than ever.
If Piroe drops down to the number 10 role, Leeds cannot afford to play Bamford as the number 9 as then the team would lack some energy and pace up front.
However, Bamford could remain a good option to use from the bench and could come on later in the game to replace either Joseph or Piroe based on the situation.
For the moment, it seems unlikely that the former Chelsea forward will get a chance to start a game even if the Leeds boss decides to field two strikers from the start.
But he could have an important role to play for Leeds as he remains a threat from the bench given his experience but needs to ensure that his body can handle the load.
