Leeds Utd v Fulham - MATCH THREAD

[Ellandback1]

Leeds United v Fulham

Saturday 27th June 2020 3:00pm | Elland Road


Having dropped three valuable points at the weekend, Leeds will be hoping to get back to winning ways and keep the distance between themselves and the play off hopefuls. Similar can be said about their opponents on Saturday. The Cottagers were comfortably beaten 2-0 during the battle of West London which saw Brentford move within a point of third place Fulham.

Leeds will be hoping that veteran midfielder Pablo Hernandez can overcome a knock he picked up a fortnight ago during murder ball. He has trained with the squad all week and will be given as much time as possible to recover. There were also doubts about the fitness of Tyler Roberts who had been struggling with cramp but he has come through ok. Ian Poveda is pushing for a starting position having impressed during his 15 minute cameo role at the Cardiff City Stadium last Sunday.

Leeds Manager Marcelo Bielsa must decide whether to stick with Patrick Bamford up front or drop him in favour of Tyler Roberts allowing Pablo Hernandez to return to the right side of midfield. Bamford has netted 12 times this term, averaging a goal every 224 minutes whereas the divisions leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic averages a goal every 137 minutes.

One change is on the cards for Fulham with winger Ivan Cavaleiro likely to replace Neeskens Kebano on the left-wing, also, centre-back Alfie Mawson is back fit but is unlikely to start ahead of Michael Hector or Tim Ream. With Cavaleiro likely to return to the starting line-up on Saturday, he will be hoping to make a notable impact and add to the 13 goal contributions (six goals and seven assists) that he has amassed so far this season. The on loan winger caused Leeds some problems in their last match and was denied a fine, long-range goal by a brilliant Casilla save in December.

Leeds had not lost since 5 October when they travelled to Craven Cottage in late December, but a 2-1 defeat put an end to that 11-game unbeaten run, thanks to goals from Aleksander Mitrovic and Josh Onomah. In fact, Parker’s side are unbeaten in seven games against the Yorkshire outfit in all competitions which represents the challenge that Marcelo Bielsa’s side face on Saturday as they look to retake the top spot.


Leeds Starting XI:
Meslier, Ayling, White, Cooper, Dallas, Phillips, Klich, Harrison, Costa,Roberts, Bamford

Subs: Miazek, Douglas, Alioski, Berardi, Shackleton, Stevens, Poveda, Hernandez, Struijk

[The Subhuman]

That's 12 goals in around 200 plus chances imo

[BGwhite]

That's 12 goals in around 200 plus chances imo

Yep, absolutely pathetic. Playing well above his station . Yes people will say he's a vital cog in our system but he is certainly not a natural finisher , had we had one in our ranks we wouldn't be on edge right now we'd be up already. You get what you pay for imo.

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[The Subhuman]

I've never understood the vital cog in the system argument, his movement is poor, he has very poor footwork, not a natural finisher. You'd grade him fairly low as a player that can hold the ball up, he can but so could 50 other strikers in the Championship most of whom could finish better. The runs are unimaginative, he doesn't seem to know where to go when Harrison and Costa are in good positions which goes to football IQ and instinct. He's not a great decoy as defences really aren't scared of him, they actually give him a lot of room and don't seem too bothered by his runs. He's not really pulling 1 or 2 defenders with him. Ball at feet he's ok, solid passer without a lot of vision. He doesn't beat players with skill or pace. He's not dominant in the air, he can head the ball though the technique needs work but you won't see him out leap a defender the way Roofe used to

He's a ten a penny forward in the championship

[John in Louisiana]

So if Pablo and Roberts are healthy is there a spot for Poveda? I could see replacing Bamford with Roberts, but then who would sit to make way for Poveda?

[BGwhite]

If Pablo is fit I'd have him as sub and poveda on from the start. If it's not going well then Pablo comes on for whoever and have a reshuffle. Pablo needs looking after.

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[Chilli D]

Let's be honest, how many times has the side changed this season even after a poor display?
Hardly ever.
Bamford will start on Saturday.

[Ratscoot]

I've never understood the vital cog in the system argument, his movement is poor, he has very poor footwork, not a natural finisher. You'd grade him fairly low as a player that can hold the ball up, he can but so could 50 other strikers in the Championship most of whom could finish better. The runs are unimaginative, he doesn't seem to know where to go when Harrison and Costa are in good positions which goes to football IQ and instinct. He's not a great decoy as defences really aren't scared of him, they actually give him a lot of room and don't seem too bothered by his runs. He's not really pulling 1 or 2 defenders with him. Ball at feet he's ok, solid passer without a lot of vision. He doesn't beat players with skill or pace. He's not dominant in the air, he can head the ball though the technique needs work but you won't see him out leap a defender the way Roofe used to

He's a ten a penny forward in the championship

Only thing I can add is he was very worried about those moles and perhaps that was playing on his mind Sunday

[John in Louisiana]

Let's be honest, how many times has the side changed this season even after a poor display?
Hardly ever.
Bamford will start on Saturday.

I imagine that's correct.

[Irish Ian]

Massive match.

Do we have enough big game players?

My main hope is in the fact that Fulham aren’t a park the bus outfit so we may enjoy a bit more room to operate.

My main worry is our keeper. There is now massive pressure on him in this run in.

If Pablo is fit he will play it in place if Roberts.

Bamford will have to be on his game to bel their back line busy, and Dallas and Ayling will have to be all over their wingers.

Poveda off the bench.

[danhirons]

Massive match.

Do we have enough big game players?

My main hope is in the fact that Fulham aren’t a park the bus outfit so we may enjoy a bit more room to operate.

My main worry is our keeper. There is now massive pressure on him in this run in.

If Pablo is fit he will play it in place if Roberts.

Bamford will have to be on his game to bel their back line busy, and Dallas and Ayling will have to be all over their wingers.

Poveda off the bench.

meslier should have done better with the first on sunday but looks pretty competent, no worries there from me, even if he has a stinker it's not as if we really have another senior keeper to replace him so I doubt he's under too much pressure

[danhirons]

barndoor bamford to start with costa and hernandez for roberts if fit (bielsa v rarely changes a line up even after a poor performance) - don't remember poveda doing anything especially good on sunday to warrant a start either, although costa was distinctly average

[Byebyegeegee]

It must be difficult being the Leeds keeper at the moment because for long spells they have little serious involvement in the game other than collecting back passes from defenders and redistributing, staying alert must be a problem. Whereas the opposition keepers are usually very involved and therefore have plenty of opportunity to get tuned into the game, get their eye in so to speak. I’m not criticising Meslier at all by the way as I think he will make a very good keeper, just looking for reasons why we seem to concede more goals than we should going by attempts at goal statistics.

[Chilli D]

If you look at Liverpool, they were average at best against Everton and were lucky to get a draw but they were back to their best against Palace last night so I'm hoping its the same for us on Saturday.
First game, a little rusty and let down by two mistakes, second game, pre-lockdown dominance.
Fingers crossed.

[1964white]

Pablo back in training

[dezzy]

I’d have Pablo on the bench, he hasn’t played in 3 months and is coming back from a knock, so would be silly to start him, he’d provide great impact in the last 30.
Wasn’t overly impressed with Poveda the last day but Costa really disappointed me so putting costa on the bench might give him a kick up the arse and he might show us something coming off the bench. Can’t see Bamford not starting as has been said, Biesla doesn’t change too much, ever so he’ll get another go, he can’t be as poor as he was against Cardiff.

Meslier
Ayling
White
Cooper
Dallas

Philips
Klich
Roberts

Harrison
Bamford
Poveda

At least we should have a little more impact from the bench this weekend which will be important

[dezzy]

I've never understood the vital cog in the system argument, his movement is poor, he has very poor footwork, not a natural finisher. You'd grade him fairly low as a player that can hold the ball up, he can but so could 50 other strikers in the Championship most of whom could finish better. The runs are unimaginative, he doesn't seem to know where to go when Harrison and Costa are in good positions which goes to football IQ and instinct. He's not a great decoy as defences really aren't scared of him, they actually give him a lot of room and don't seem too bothered by his runs. He's not really pulling 1 or 2 defenders with him. Ball at feet he's ok, solid passer without a lot of vision. He doesn't beat players with skill or pace. He's not dominant in the air, he can head the ball though the technique needs work but you won't see him out leap a defender the way Roofe used to

He's a ten a penny forward in the championship

Nice to see you soften your stance on paddy

[rrfierce]

Still not sure what bielsa sees in bamford . Is it because he signed him and doesn't want to admit defeat?

He's not a threat , teams know this and the fact he (and the rest of the team) needs 10 chances to out one away. We need to find our form again. I'm going for a 1-1 draw.

Still - we are hopeful and deserve this. Hope Pablo's ok, he's going to be vital f the last few games.

[Cjay]

I've never understood the vital cog in the system argument, his movement is poor, he has very poor footwork, not a natural finisher. You'd grade him fairly low as a player that can hold the ball up, he can but so could 50 other strikers in the Championship most of whom could finish better. The runs are unimaginative, he doesn't seem to know where to go when Harrison and Costa are in good positions which goes to football IQ and instinct. He's not a great decoy as defences really aren't scared of him, they actually give him a lot of room and don't seem too bothered by his runs. He's not really pulling 1 or 2 defenders with him. Ball at feet he's ok, solid passer without a lot of vision. He doesn't beat players with skill or pace. He's not dominant in the air, he can head the ball though the technique needs work but you won't see him out leap a defender the way Roofe used to

He's a ten a penny forward in the championship

Ive defended Paddy a lot but i have ran out of patience to.

I think MB does and has impacted his sides chances of winning in the past purely because of his own football beliefs and ideals.

The system is everything and whether fans like it or not that will never change.

He refused to play Hernan Crespo and Gabby Batistuta together because it would impact the teams style. Similar to why he never tried Eddie with Paddy i assume.

He refused to use Juan Riquelme one of the most naturally gifted number 10s of his generation presumably because he didnt trust him to do the dirty stuff etc.

And i always think back to what Javier Saviola said.

Another thing is how sincere he is when he talks to you. That’s why players love him so much – he is so upfront when he approaches you, whether it’s good or bad. I remember I scored three goals in one match. I was really happy.

“Yet when I got to the dressing room he offered a different opinion. ‘You were a disaster today.’ Why? I didn’t understand at all. But in his footballing vision it was about what I did in the defensive phase. Or, rather, what I didn’t do.

Thats how MB thinks, we knew what we were getting in MB.

A maverick, an innovator, an idealist but also someone who is famously single minded.

We just have to hope he is justified because imo he deserves to be.

[Leeds1000]

First post so hello Everyone.

What a let down on Sunday. After being so excited about Leeds being back, i ended the day pretty deflated, thinking is this what i really need? The next morning i was looking forward to Fulham.

In a nutshell i think we will beat Fulham. The lads, for whatever reason were alittle lethargic for me against Cardiff. Cardiff defended well against our impotent attack and made the most of our mistakes scoring 2 great goals. I'm sure the coaches will have been passing around the smelling salts in training and we won't witness another (all we have to do is turn up) type performance.

You have come this far lads, dig in and lets get this done.