Leeds United crashed out of the EFL Cup in August after getting hammered by Middlesbrough at Elland Road. The Whites have a chance to progress in another cup competition when they take on League Two side Harrogate Town in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. It is also a rare opportunity for Daniel Farke to field a heavily rotated squad and give some of the fringe players a chance to play. He will look to rest his more important stars and test out of the squad players as the Championship will remain the Leeds manager’s priority.
Leeds are preparing for Harrogate Town’s visit to Elland Road for their third-round FA Cup clash on Saturday. Leeds are favourites to beat them and progress in the competition.
However, the FA Cup is not the focus for Leeds as getting promoted to the Premier League at the end of the day season is still their biggest focus for the campaign.
It will be evident from the team selection as Farke will look to rest as many of his top players and give them a chance to get a breather ahead of returning to the Championship campaign a week from Sunday when Sheffield Wednesday will visit Elland Road.
A number of the Leeds players have struggled to get regular game time this season and some of them will have the opportunity to prove themselves against Harrogate Town.
Farke needs his squad to step up if Leeds are to get promoted to the Premier League and he will hope to see more from some of the fringe stars who have rarely received an opportunity to impress.
A defensive and midfield shake-up awaits for Leeds United
Farke is almost certain to ring in the changes and field a heavily rotated Leeds United squad against the Harrogate Town at Elland Road on Saturday.
Leeds fans will see most of the changes in the defensive line, including the goalkeeper and we could also see at least one fringe star in the midfield.
A completely different forward line will also take the field but some of those players will be looking to win back their place in the regular starting eleven going forward.
Illan Meslier will be taken off the firing line but it is no indication whether the Frenchman has lost his place in the starting eleven. Karl Darlow will get his second start of the season after the EFL Cup defeat in August.
Sam Byram and Ethan Ampadu will be in the defence to provide some stability to the defence but we could see 19-year-old centre-back James Debayo get his first start as a Leeds player. Isaac Schmidt could finally make it to the starting eleven for the first time this season.
Joe Rothwell will provide some consistency in midfield but he could see a different partner in the middle of the park as Josuha Guilavogui will likely get his first start for Leeds since joining the club in October.
Mateo Joseph will get one more chance to prove himself as a striker and will lead the line against Harrogate Town. Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani will be the wide players in the starting eleven.
Daniel Farke wants to progress in the FA Cup despite the team that will play
Leeds crashed out of the EFL Cup and while cup competitions are not their focus this season, the Whites will still want to progress in the FA Cup.
Farke will definitely field a much-changed team but he will still want them to be strong enough to ensure that they do not slip up against a League Two side.
It is a great chance to rest players for the rest of the Championship season but Leeds still need to ensure that they are in the fourth-round draw at the end of the weekend.
The Leeds boss said in a press conference: “In the cup competition, everything is possible. We see many upsets and surprising results. You never take it for granted the favourite goes through.
“We will rotate a bit more than for a league game but we want to go through. This is what we need to show, especially in the home game in front of our excited supporters.
“For them, it will be the game of the season, for us not the biggest highlight game but we want to be in the next round. We have the experience for the pre-season game and it was still a tough and tight game.
“They will make it difficult, defend for their lives, cause problems on the counter-attack.”
Crashing out of the FA Cup would still be embarrassing for Leeds even if they field a ‘weakened’ side against Harrogate Town.
The Predicted XI: Darlow, Byram, Debayo, Ampadu, Schmidt, Rothwell, Guilavogui, Aaronson, Gnonto, Ramazani, Joseph
