The Leeds United squad will reassemble in the next 24 to 48 hours as their international players start returning from their national team duty. Daniel Farke and his coaching staff have work to do to pick the starting eleven for the game against Fulham on Saturday.
Leeds picked up four points from their opening three league games and have so far defied some of the predictions of being one of the top favourites to go straight back down to the Championship this season.
Some pundits now back the Whites to finish above the relegation zone, pointing out that the upcoming fixtures offer a real chance to collect points, especially after opening against heavyweights like Arsenal and Newcastle.
However, Leeds have a few injury issues to worry about ahead of the big game against Fulham, and it remains to be seen how much that influences Farke’s team selection at Craven Cottage.
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Leeds United predicted XI ahead of the Fulham clash
Farke has a few fitness reports to go through before he can settle on his starting eleven this week ahead of their game against Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Leeds will hope that captain Ethan Ampadu will be fit enough to be part of the travelling squad, but the jury is out on the availability of Ao Tanaka at the moment.
Ilia Gruev also played with an injury in Bulgaria’s 3-0 defeat against Georgia over the weekend, and his fitness will be assessed once he returns to Thorp Arch.
Leeds expect the Bulgarian to be fit to play against Fulham, and he is likely to play in the midfield three against Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach if Ampadu is not ready to start.
Farke is unlikely to make any changes to his defence for the trip to Fulham, so Jaka Bijol will have to wait for his Premier League debut.
However, Leeds have looked short of ideas in the final third, and Noah Okafor could get his first taste of Premier League action against Fulham as Farke searches for some quality in attack.
Lukas Nmecha will likely be the number 9 with Wilfried Gnonto playing on the right flank, instead of Daniel James, who has looked a bit off-colour at the start of the season.
Predicted XI – Perri; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Longstaff, Gruev, Stach; Gnonto, Nmecha, Okafor
