Problems still surround Jesse Marsch at Leeds United, but they are of the high-quality kind many managers crave. Rather than cramming square pegs in round holes to field a team, the head coach has real competition for places in natural roles.
There has certainly been a fade factor in the anguish and pain after that thrashing by Brentford last time out. Four weeks is a long time and it’s easy to forget how poor the defensive play was at points in that match.
Marsch seems unlikely to throw the baby out with the bathwater, however. Cody Drameh’s start on Friday night with the under-21s clears up at least one change.
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The hardest call in the team is probably Rasmus Kristensen or Luke Ayling at right-back. There are pros and cons to each route Marsch takes, but his fierce praise of the former in Friday’s press conference may have been a clue.
The American stressed the importance of incorporating leaders like Liam Cooper and Ayling into the side as soon as possible, but the Dane’s the future at right-back, goes back many years with Marsch, needs to continue his transition and, in the boss’s words, shut down Kylian Mbappe at times last week.
Kristensen lost his place through injury rather than poor performance and Marsch could well give him the benefit of the doubt. Ayling’s impact from the bench at Brentford may be something the head coach looks to again on Sunday.
Cooper’s first league start of the season looks more straightforward. Diego Llorente had arguably his worst performance in Leeds colours last time out and hasn’t played a minute for Spain during the international break, while the captain is as fit as Marsch has seen him, natural on the left side and a leader with the head coach stranded in the gods.
Junior Firpo is another fresh option for Marsch. Evidently, Firpo is a more natural fit at full-back than Pascal Struijk, but the latter has settled in well, performed decently and the latter is still some weeks behind the likes of Cooper and Ayling in match fitness.
Marsch talked up Aston Villa’s set-piece threat on Friday too. Struijk would be infinitely better in that situation than Firpo.
The other big call seems to be at the tip of the attack. Joe Gelhardt did not get much joy at Brentford, while Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo are both now considered sharp enough to start.
Bamford’s half in Hounslow, subsequent under-21 hat-trick and four weeks of uninterrupted training should put him in pole position. Rodrigo will be a useful match-winner from the bench.
Predicted line-up: Meslier; Kristensen, Koch, Cooper, Struijk; Adams, Roca; Sinisterra, Aaronson, Harrison; Bamford.
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