Leeds United welcome Queens Park Rangers to Elland Road on Sunday in what is their final match of another hugely disappointing Championship season.
The Yorkshire outfit looked to be on course to be well involved in the Premier League promotion race when they started the campaign so well and topped the standings in September, but a dreadful run towards the end of 2017 and throughout 2018 has left them 15 points adrift of the top six going into their last fixture.
The Whites’ season was summed up in their 2-1 defeat to Norwich City at Carrow Road last weekend, where they took the lead through Kalvin Phillips in the first half, before the Canaries equalised on the stroke of half-time and then added a second after the break.
It was the eighth defeat of Paul Heckingbottom’s 15 games in charge since he replaced Thomas Christiansen in February, and another disappointing performance and result against Rangers could seal his fate already given things haven’t really improved too much.
The 40-year-old made one change for the trip to Norfolk as captain Liam Cooper replaced Paudie O’Connor in the backline, and the former Barnsley boss may be considering making further alterations against Ian Holloway’s men in an opportunity to give some fringe and younger players a chance to impress.
Here is how Leeds must line up against QPR, ahead of Bailey Peacock-Farrell in goal…
As we mentioned previously, Heckingbottom decided to bring his captain Cooper straight back into the starting XI following his suspension, and Paudie O’Connor may have felt hard done by that he was the man to drop out of the defence.
However, it was an understandable decision from the Leeds boss seeing as he probably wanted a vocal leader in the team, and the 40-year-old should look to stick with the same back four – with teenager Tom Pearce at left-back, loanee Matthew Pennington at right-back in what could be his final game for the club, and Cooper alongside Pontus Jansson in the middle.
Kalvin Phillips – one of three Leeds players who will be praying Heckingbottom stays this summer – and 19-year-old Ronaldo Vieira started in midfield against the Canaries, but now with Adam Forshaw back to full fitness and ready to play 90 minutes, he has to start against Rangers.
That means one of Vieira and Phillips needs to be dropped, and the Leeds boss should choose to put the latter on the substitutes’ bench despite his goal at Carrow Road, with his performance generally not being up to scratch in recent months.
The 40-year-old manager should go with a 4-4-2 system against Ian Holloway’s side to allow him to experiment in attack, and with Pablo Hernandez set to miss out following the birth of his baby and Samu Saiz out of form, Ezgjan Alioski and Kemar Roofe must start on the left and right flanks respectively.
With Roofe dropping back into midfield, Caleb Ekuban out of form and Pierre-Michel Lasogga looking unlikely to return to Elland Road when his loan spell from Hamburg expires after this match, Heckingbottom has a big opportunity against Rangers.
He has already called up teenage strikers Sam Dalby and Ryan Edmondson – the latter is just 16 years of age – to first-team training this week, and both should be given the opportunity to start as a front two against QPR with the Elland Road crowd ready to get behind them.
It certainly won’t hurt to see if they are ready now and what they can offer in the future, and it’s not as though Heckingbottom’s other options are exactly impressing right now.
Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.
