Leeds United's friendly with AS Monaco on Wednesday will hand Jesse Marsch his final opportunity to experiment tactically ahead of the Premier League return. The two friendlies so far have arguably provided more questions than answers for Marsch in terms of who he will replace the suspended Tyler Adams with against Manchester City.
Adam Forshaw - who missed the final two months of the season through injury before the World Cup break - has started both of Leeds' wins over Elche and Real Sociedad but has looked a little rusty at times in both matches. That is something he can ill afford to be when the Premier League champions make the trip to Elland Road.
Marsch must decide in this next friendly whether to hand Forshaw more minutes from the start to get up to speed, or give Sam Greenwood the opportunity to stake a claim. In the defeat Adams missed against Fulham in October, Greenwood was the man tasked with replacing him, but Forshaw was of course unavailable.
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The 20-year-old was in good form heading into the break, scoring and assisting from the bench in Leeds' 4-3 comeback win over Bournemouth, but questions still remain as to what his best position is. Marsch has used him regularly in a midfield two, but much of his best work still comes at the front end of the pitch, with crossing and shooting among his best attributes.
Whoever he goes with alongside Marc Roca will mean an element of unfamiliarity in terms of a partnership, but that will only heighten the importance of the clash with Monaco. Whoever Marsch opts to start with on Wednesday is also likely to get the nod against City.
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