Leeds United have left themselves requiring a miracle on the final day of the Premier League season to avoid relegation. The lacklustre performance against West Ham United on Sunday has left them two points adrift of safety and with just one game remaining their fate is firmly out of their hands.
To stay up Leeds need a huge favour from Bournemouth against Everton at Goodison Park next Sunday. They will also be hoping to see Leicester City falter tonight against Newcastle United and against West Ham on the final day.
Most of all, though, Leeds need goals if they’re to get the three points they need in order to move out of the bottom three on the final day. Only a win against Tottenham Hotspur will do and with fire power like Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to contend with, it’s fair to say Leeds might have to score more than the one they bagged at the London Stadium, through Rodrigo, on Sunday.
Read more: Every word Sam Allardyce said on Leeds United's defeat, Bamford and Rodrigo injuries, final day
Where those goals come from is the question Sam Allardyce will be asking himself over the coming days, particularly given the respective conditions of Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo. Both players started the contest in east London, but neither finished it problem-free unfortunately, putting them both at risk of missing the final day clash at Elland Road.
Patrick Bamford picked up a hamstring issue in the first half of the contest and that was enough to force him off the field in the 34th minute, to be replaced by Wilfried Gnonto. Rodrigo, on the other hand, managed to make it to the final whistle but it’s fair to say he did not look comfortable as he played through the pain of a plantar fascia problem.
The injury wasn’t enough to force him off the field, but it did seem to get the better of his performance, particularly as the game wore on into the second half. Allardyce was aware of the pain Rodrigo was in, but he felt he had to keep him on the field to give his side an attacking outlet.
Both players will be assessed in the week and given the circumstances, if they are even half fit Allardyce will be tempted to start the pair of them. The head coach was less than enthusiastic about the impact his substitutions made at the London Stadium and his decision to risk Rodrigo for the full 90 only serves to underline that Leeds lack an obvious option to lead the line in their absence.
As such, in a worst-case scenario, Allardyce might have to get creative in his pursuit of goals against Ryan Mason’s north Londoners. Georginio Rutter appears to be one of the more clear alternatives.
The club record signing hasn’t featured since the 68-year-old’s appointment, with his only game time coming in the U21s. Allardyce has watched him play for the youth side twice over the last fortnight and he did provide a bright spark in both play-off games, but the coach was clear in his belief that Rutter wasn’t ready for senior football this season, when asked about the Frenchman in Friday’s press conference.
It also spoke volumes that he never turned Rutter’s way when Leeds needed a spark against the Hammers. He didn’t give Sonny Perkins a run out against his former club, either. Perkins is still waiting to make his Premier League debut for the Whites having spent the campaign with the U21s.
The teenager impressed in the youth side this season and he has saved the first-team on one occasion already this season, bagging the equaliser in the FA Cup draw at Cardiff City back in January. He knows where the back of the net is, his 12 goals at youth level tell you that and he might be the man if Allardyce were to roll the dice.
There is Wilfried Gnonto, of course. Gnonto has been seen on both flanks this season but he can play through the middle, too. He might not be best suited to the lead striker role, with Allardyce asking his strikers to hold the ball up and bring others into play before looking to provide a presence in the area. But, he knows what runs to make and how to find goalscoring positions.
Gnonto isn’t playing with the unrelenting confidence that he had earlier in the campaign, but if a chance were to fall in his direction, there’s few players Leeds fans would trust more. Sam Greenwood knows how to play the striker role, even if he has spent the last year or so playing deeper.
Jack Harrison has been seen standing in up front before, too, but such a switch would be less than ideal given his importance on the flank.
It’s a decision Allardyce will be hoping he doesn’t have to make this week. If neither Bamford nor Rodrigo are in a position to start, though, he might find himself mulling over a makeshift attacking line ahead of the final and biggest game of the campaign.
