Jesse Marsch admits there is a chance that Wilfried Gnonto could be handed his first Leeds United start this weekend. The Whites take on Tottenham Hotspur in their final Premier League game before the World Cup and they could head to north London without Jack Harrison.
The winger picked up a muscle strain during Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup loss to Wolves and a late decision will be made on his availability for the game. Harrison is far from guaranteed a spot in the side after seeing his form drop over the last month or so, but if he’s fit, he will not doubt have some part to play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Marsch has options in his absence and the head coach named Gnonto and Sam Greenwood as possible players to step into the starting XI. Gnonto, though, would be the obvious choice if Marsch is keen to keep changes to a minimum this weekend.
“Yeah, I think if Jack seems a little bit questionable then Willy becomes a real possibility,” the head coach said when asked about his line-up. “I think Sam Greenwood as well played really well when he came off the bench.
“So it's a little bit what tactic we decide to use. Is Willy a better fit or is Sam a better fit to supplement what we would require from Jack?
“Regardless, I think that both played really well against Bournemouth, both played well when they came on against Wolves and I know that both will be ready.”
The Whites will travel to Spurs full of confidence having won their last two in the league and they also have the knowledge that they are capable of rattling the cages of the Premier League big boys. They have already recorded wins over Chelsea and Liverpool this season and they gave Arsenal a run for their money at Elland Road in October, before eventually succumbing to defeat.
As such, Marsch knows Leeds will be fearless when they go head to head with Antonio Conte’s Spurs, who currently sit inside the top four.
“Conte in general doesn't always do a lot of rotation,” Marsch said. "He has a group that he works intensively with and almost protects very carefully.
“I know from when he's travelled to the US many times with different teams, Juventus or whatever, and he's known as one of the guys that keeps a closed environment more than anyone else that comes when they make these tours of the US. So this is his leadership style.
“I think at the moment that Tottenham has had a lot of games, they've rotated a little bit but not that much. They have such a quality squad. Playing at home they're always good and what an incredible stadium and fan base they have.
“We know that this is a big challenge once again, against the top opponent in our league that is disciplined to play the way that they want to play. The beauty of where we are is we are not perfect but we are also not afraid, we have shown this year that we are not afraid of top opponents and for sure we are going to go down to Tottenham and we are going to play confidently and we are going to go after the game in every way.”
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