A look at the options Daniel Farke has at his disposal for today’s Championship clash
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Leeds United begin life without Georginio Rutter at West Bromwich Albion this lunchtime. The Whites go head-to-head with the Baggies at The Hawthorns live in front of the Sky cameras, kick-off at 12:30 p.m.
After bowing out of the Carabao Cup at the first round stage in midweek, United travel to the Midlands searching for their first win of the season. Recent history, though, is not on the Whites’ side, as WBA prevailed 1-0 in the corresponding fixture last term.
Daniel Farke’s side were held to a 3-3 draw at home to newly-promoted Portsmouth on the opening weekend of the 2024/25 Championship season. “I think we were a bit disappointed after the first day,” said Wales international Daniel James.
“We should have got more out the (Portsmouth) game, we rescued a point at the end and maybe could have won it, but we’ve got things to work on.
“We need to be confident going into the next game. The mood is good, we still feel confident, there’s still so many games to go and we’ll be ready for it.
“I think they’re a very good team [West Brom], They’re very structured in the way they want to play and their understanding is very good. They are hard to break down, and they have quality going forward. So, we have to be aware of that and go into the game believing in ourselves, but also aware of their threats.
“As a player, you want to just play games and get straight into it. After Wednesday night [at home to Middlesbrough], we want the next game quick and fast.”
The likelihood is that Farke will make wholesale changes to his starting XI for their third fixture in the space of eight days. James, Ilian Meslier, Jayden Bogle, Pascal Struijk, Ilia Gruev, Wilfried Gnonto and Mateo Joseph are pushing for recalls.
A late decision will be made on the fitness of Max Wober. The Austrian international is nursing a calf problem following the Middlesbrough tie and is their only injury concern. The chances are that Wober, who can be deployed at left-back or centre-half, will be named on the bench. Farke is likely to select Struijk and Joe Rodon as his centre-back pairing
Leeds United squad vs West Brom: Meslier, Darlow, Cairns, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Wober, Debayo, Firpo, Byram, Ampadu, Rothwell, Gruev, Crew, James, Gnonto, Aaronson, Bamford, Piroe, Gelhardt, Joseph.