Could Ryan Edmondson be Leeds’ secret weapon at Millwall?

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Leeds United face one of their bogey teams in the Championship this weekend

Leeds may be top of the Championship, but Marcelo Bielsa’s side would be forgiven for feeling that the wind has been taken out of their sails ever so slightly over the last few days with the news that Patrick Bamford is set to miss several months of action after sustaining a knee injury while playing for the under-23s recently.

Millwall will beckon Leeds into The Den this Saturday. And despite facing the likes of Stoke, Swansea and Middlesbrough already this season, it will be the Lions who arguably give the Whites the best platform so far to prove whether they are likely to be in the promotion picture or not come the business end of the campaign.

If Millwall’s record at home against Leeds in recent years mirrored their performances against the other sides in the division, there is no way that they would still be waiting for their first top six finish in the second tier since 2001/02.

Neil Harris’ men make life difficult for their opponents, and their physicality is likely to push a Leeds side that does not boast a significant number of tall players in their ranks.

And that is why Bielsa should consider using Ryan Edmondson as a secret weapon this weekend as he could improve Leeds’ prospects at both ends of the pitch with his stature.

Kemar Roofe has joined Patrick Bamford on the sidelines for the game, with Bielsa confirming that the striker is not fit. It is a major blow given how impressive Roofe has been so far this term.

Edmondson will not only be able to ask different questions to the ones that Roofe would pose going forward, but he should also give Leeds more strength when it comes to defending set-pieces, which could prove invaluable given that only one of Millwall’s six league goals this term have come from a striker.

Bielsa’s famed reluctance to deviate from Plan A suggests that Edmondson would not have been involved if he had either Roofe or Bamford available, but perhaps the youngster could be an ideal ace in the pack in a game that Leeds would get a huge lift from winning.