Opinion: Daniel Farke ought to give a “phenomenal” recall to a Leeds United player this Friday against Leicester.
Leeds United travels to Leicester City on Friday for their most difficult test of the season thus far.
Leicester has won 13 of their first 14 games in the Championship after being demoted along with Leeds in May. The best start in the history of the league.
Although Leeds has had a respectable start, they are currently 14 points behind the Foxes and will be anxious to prevent that difference from growing at the King Power Stadium.
While Daniel Farke most likely won’t want to make many changes to the starting lineup that destroyed Huddersfield Town 4-1 the previous weekend, he will undoubtedly need to make a few important decisions.
There is one at right-back. Archie Gray was replaced by Jamie Shackleton, who was given his first start since Leeds’ September loss to Southampton.
With Glen Kamara and Ethan Ampadu appearing to be Farke’s preferred midfield duo, Gray’s only position to start this weekend is at right-back, and that’s exactly what Farke should do at Leicester, where the victory over Huddersfield last weekend gave him a much-needed rest, as he was an unutilized substitute for the entire 90 minutes. The “phenomenal” Gray will have had nine days to recuperate and train back to full fitness, which should put him in good shape for Friday and allow him to return to the starting lineup.
Gray appeared noticeably lanky in both of the England U19s’ 90-minute games against Norwich City and Stoke City during the international break. Gray played three 90-minute games over the course of six days.
At Leicester, though, this ought not to be the situation. While Shackleton performed admirably against Huddersfield the previous week, he had trouble against Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana, a very cunning winger.
Leeds cannot allow Leicester’s wide players to settle into a rhythm, and Farke should give Gray the advantage because of his bigger stature than Shackleton.
