Leeds United are set to square off against Norwich City at Elland Road in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
After two consecutive losses against Manchester City and Sunderland, Daniel Farke will be keen to get his side back to winning ways against his former club, whilst booking United’s place in the quarter-final of the FA Cup.
Farke, of course, will not be on the touchline for the clash, with the Leeds boss set to serve a one-game suspension for his conduct in the aftermath of the Man City game, as confirmed in an official statement from the FA.
Nevertheless, the Whites go into the tie against the Championship outfit as favourites, with Farke expected to make several changes to his lineup.
Facundo Buonanotte to be handed rare start against Norwich
Buonanotte’s loan move to Elland Road has been nothing short of a disaster so far for the Argentinian, who has been left out of multiple matchday squads.
Although it is arguably too late in the season for the 21-year-old to establish himself as a regular starter under Farke, an impressive showing against Norwich could persuade Farke to include Buonanotte in more matchday squads and potentially use him more as an impact substitute moving forward.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is expected to be rested to give Lukas Nmecha a start in is place, but expect the Englishman to be thrown on if the Whites need a goal.
Brenden Aaronson is also likely to be dropped, with the likes of Willy Gnonto or Dan James in desperate need of minutes to increase their match sharpness.
It would not be a surprise to see Farke revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation, with this being the official Leeds Press predicted lineup.
Lucas Perri, Jayden Bogle, Jaka Bijol, Pascal Struijk, James Justin, Sean Longstaff, Ao Tanaka, Willy Gnonto, Facundo Buonanotte, Joel Piroe, Lukas Nmecha
Facundo Buonanotte was terrible against Birmingham
If we do not see Buonanotte feature against Norwich, then he may never play for Leeds again before his loan expires.
To date, his only start for United came in the last round of the FA Cup against Birmingham, where the Argentine was hooked at half-time after having a terrible first half.
- None of the three dribbles Buonanotte attempted against Birmingham were successful
- The youngster struggled to cope with the physicality during the game, winning just two of the nine duels he was involved in
- Buonanotte lost possession 10 times during the 45 minutes he played (Sofascore)
In his pre-match press conference, Farke defended Buonanotte by saying, “Hard work is always the answer, he has to get on with it, he is very self critical and a fantastic human being, it is not easy not playing that much, it’s not like all of a sudden you press a button, it’s step by step, he gets all the support from us and of course a chance for him to be involved.”
However, behind closed doors, Farke will likely admit that this game against Norwich is Buonanotte’s final chance to impress.
