Leeds United travel to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham City in the Championship on Friday night, and Garry Monk has an important selection decision to make.
Garry Monk
Leeds travel to Birmingham this Friday looking to capitalise on the important victory they picked up over Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend. And while they will perhaps be favourites for the contest against the Blues, Garry Monk has some important selection decisions to think over in the coming days.
Despite Birmingham’s struggles since Gianfranco Zola’s appointment, they are coming into the game off the back of a win over Wolves last Friday, and a key reason for their win was the Blues’ victory in the midfield battle.
The likes of Maikel Kieftenbeld, David Davis and Robert Tesche largely overpowered their Wolves counterparts in the middle of the park, so Monk would be forgiven for thinking that picking the right midfielders could have a big say in whether Leeds strengthen their Championship promotion bid further.
One player who has perhaps divided the Elland Road faithful somewhat – though the small number of critics have generally understood that he is still a teenager and is bound to make mistakes – is Ronaldo Vieira.
The main criticism of the youngster is that his passing after winning the ball back can be disappointing and he can often take too much time on the ball, and that leaves Monk in a difficult position.
Leeds’ Ronaldo Vieira
Though Liam Bridcutt and Eunan O’Kane’s partnership was predominantly excellent against the Owls – though, again, some remain unconvinced about the latter’s display at the weekend – having Vieira alongside Bridcutt may actually be a wise decision, even if he is slightly less assured on the ball than O’Kane.
Vieira is certainly not afraid to get stuck in and that may be exactly what is needed against a Birmingham midfield that promises to be combative.
However, he will also know that he cannot take almost any time to release the ball as the Blues men will be onto him in a flash applying pressure.
So if Monk can make sure that Vieira gets his head up straight away and releases the ball early, then it would surely be the ideal game for the youngster to demonstrate his class just like he did against Derby County earlier this year.
And if he does end up dominating the midfield battle, it is difficult to see how else Birmingham will be capable of preventing Leeds from securing another important three points.
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