Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom will be hoping to ease some of the pressure on his shoulders, but it will be no easy task for the Whites.
With just two wins coming in his tenure so far, Paul Heckingbottom would be forgiven for fearing that he is starting to come under serious pressure at Leeds despite having a hugely difficult task since he arrived earlier in the year.
It remains to be seen if the former Barnsley boss is actually coming under any pressure from Andrea Radrizzani, but the fans are clearly starting to lose faith in the current head coach with some of his decisions arguably doing him few favours. Against Preston North End, he took a significant risk by handing both Jay-Roy Grot and Caleb Ekuban a start, and those calls backfired.
Despite taking the lead through Kemar Roofe, Leeds ultimately lost 3-1. And they certainly face an uphill battle trying to avoid suffering two defeats in a week as they face promotion-chasers Aston Villa on Friday.
Heckingbottom is asking for trouble if he keeps faith with Ekuban and Grot. He may well give the young forwards another chance, but the safer options would undoubtedly be using some of his more established players – even if their form has been questionable.
Therefore, there may well be recalls to the side for Samuel Saiz and Gjanni Alioski. The pair both came on at Deepdale and they are arguably two of the players who have the potential to hurt a side like Villa if they are at the races.
Meanwhile, Roofe may push further forward given that he marked his return to the starting lineup with a goal on Tuesday. Pierre-Michel Lasogga may be an option, but the German is another struggling for form and given that he is only on loan, Heckingbottom may feel that it makes more sense to keep faith with the players most likely to be in his squad next season.
Meanwhile, at the back, it will surprise few to see Vurnon Anita dropped after he gave away a penalty against the Lilywhites. Tom Pearce may get another chance at left-back with Stuart Dallas keeping his place on the right.
Pontus Jansson was taken off with injury in the last game. Given Leeds’ lack of senior options at centre-back right now, it seems more than likely that he will play even if he is not quite fully fit. It would be a gamble if Heckingbottom picked Hugo Diaz alongside Paudie O’Connor from the start, despite how impressive the latter has been since coming in.
With that in mind, here is the predicted lineup in full…
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