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Leeds United to face a season-defining end to January

Leeds United sit at the summit of the Championship table and are big favourites for automatic promotion to the Premier League. However, there is a sense of unease running through the club at the moment. Pascal Struijk’s injury has come as a jolt from the blue and the club hope that it is not more serious than previously anticipated. The centre-back’s injury has also led to the club signing a new defender if he is out longer. The Yorkshire giants are also set to face a tricky set of games, including a trip to promotion rivals Burnley next Monday night. The end of January could have a significant impact on how Leeds fare for the rest of the season.

The Yorkshire giants beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 at home on Sunday to maintain their grip at the summit of the Championship table after 27 games.

However, they have a narrow lead at the top of just one point and only have a three-point buffer over Burnley who are sitting outside the automatic promotion spots.

Leeds are aware that the season is shaping up to be a tight one. They will need all the luck going their way if they are to secure promotion to the Premier League without having to go through the playoffs.

The last week at Leeds has been tough despite the win in the Yorkshire derby. The hamstring injury to Pascal Struijk has come as a major blow for the Whites at this stage of the season.

Leeds would be looking to bring in a new defender if Struijk gets ruled out for months instead of weeks and that could cause a major disruption given the Dutchman’s importance.

A centre-back reshuffle will have it’s impact on Leeds United

Daniel Farke is a champion of consistency in selection and is not a big fan of tinkering with his team too much. He rarely changes the spine of his team in defence, midfield and attack.

Struijk and Rodon have been ever-present at the heart of the Leeds defence and if the Dutchman gets ruled out for months, it would be a major headache for the Leeds boss.

Farke has avoided changing the goalkeeper despite Illan Meslier’s poor form but finding a replacement for Struijk would be an even bigger challenge.

Ethan Ampadu was brilliant in the win over Wednesday in place of Struijk but the Leeds manager wants the club captain in midfield and not in defence.

Leeds would sign a new defender if the assessment of Struijk’s injury proves to be more serious and that would be a major change in the team in the middle of the season.

Bringing in an adequate replacement, and getting him ready for Leeds’ style and the way the team function under short notice would be a massive challenge for Farke and his coaching staff.

It is no surprise that Farke would prefer to have Struijk fit and ready in a few weeks over bringing in a defender and disrupting a major area of his squad in the middle of the season.

Tricky games to navigate

Amidst the disruption in their defence, Leeds are also preparing for a tricky couple of games that will challenge the team in the next fortnight.

Leeds will be in action on Wednesday night when they host Norwich City at Elland Road. The Canaries are eleventh in the league table but are just five points off the playoff spots.

Norwich are never an easy side to play against for any team in the Championship and in Borja Sanz, they possess the best striker in the league who is a threat to any defence.

Leeds will back themselves to win at home but Norwich are not a straightforward game by any stretch of the imagination.

The Whites have a daunting fixture on Monday night when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley. The Clarets are third in the table and just three points behind Leeds.

Scott Parker’s side also beat Leeds at Elland Road earlier in the season and are looking to do a league double against the Yorkshire giants at home this season.

A couple of slip-ups in the next two fixtures could see Leeds drop out of the top two, given how tight it is at the top of the Championship standings.

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