Leeds travel to Teesside to face Middlesbrough on Friday night.
Paul Heckingbottom will be desperate to build on his first win in charge of Leeds United on Friday evening as Leeds travel to Teesside to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside – but he faces a much sterner task than Saturday.
The Whites earned a narrow 1-0 win over Brentford thanks to captain Liam Cooper’s excellent first-half header, before producing an impressive defensive rearguard to keep the Bees at bay.
But travelling north to Tony Pulis’ Middlesbrough will surely prove a much tougher task, with Boro known for their ability to keep the ball well. It is likely to see Leeds’ possession percentages drop.
Heckingbottom must instruct his side to play on the counter attack in order to keep men behind the ball and attack Boro when they win possession back, and that means the Whites need speed in the final third.
Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas, 26, has impressed since returning to the side of late, combining with Samu Saiz and Ezgjan Alioski in attacking midfield against Brentford behind target man Pierre-Michel Lasogga.
Against his old side, he was a threat with Leeds keeping the ball well. But with pace required to implement a counter attack, Dallas should be dropped as pace is certainly not his forte.
Heckingbottom should replace Dallas by unleashing speed machine Hadi Sacko on the right flank, who has been a regular substitute for the former Barnsley boss. The Frenchman has entered the fray in three of Heckingbottom’s four games.
Now, the former Sporting Lisbon star would surely be the best option to start on Friday as he boasts the kind of explosive speed Leeds need to form a counter attack and get the Whites up the pitch.
Starting Sacko alongside Saiz and Alioski would give the Whites every chance of travelling back to Yorkshire with three points.
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