Javi Gracia faces the media on Thursday afternoon for his pre-match press conference. The Leeds United head coach will take questions from television, radio, print and online journalists at Thorp Arch ahead of the Arsenal clash on Saturday.
Here is a run-down of some of the main topics on the agenda for the boss to address at the training ground today.
Injury and illness doubts
Twelve days have passed since Gracia’s last press conference and a stack of his Leeds players have been around the world playing football since then. You can be sure we are due a thorough medical update on what shape his players are in with the Arsenal trip a little over 48 hours away.
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Asking and getting are two very different things. We know Gracia is economical with what he says on injuries and illnesses, but with more time in the role there is hope he will say more.
Adam Forshaw and Stuart Dallas are the longstanding issues, while Wilfried Gnonto and Max Wober returned from international duty with problems. Weston McKennie’s USA boss said the midfielder had been playing with a fever and flu symptoms, so it will be important to see how that has affected the American upon his return.
The Tyler Adams prognosis
The one injury we have had some firm reporting on this week was the one sustained by Tyler Adams. It is understood the midfielder has now gone under the knife for treatment on the hamstring issue which ruled him out of the Wolverhampton Wanderers clash.
Supporters will be keen to hear from Gracia on how long exactly they expect the American to be unavailable. Sources in the United States have suggested his season is over.
International performances
Gracia is likely to be asked for his thoughts on the players who went away with their countries. He and his coaching team will have surely watched plenty of footage of their players while they were away.
Whether it’s Illan Meslier with France’s under-21s or Brenden Aaronson with USA, Gracia is likely to have some feedback on how his players got on around the planet.
Thorp Arch progress
The more pressing matter from a Leeds point of view will be how the players wearing United colours for the past 12 days have got on in training. Social media has shown time off has not been an issue with many of the players going abroad since the Wolves win to recharge their batteries.
Gracia will be pressed on what was worked on in training with so many players away. However, there were plenty of senior names still around to work on shape and more.
Three-quarters of the defence at Molineux was still around, one-half of the midfield pivot could be worked with, while Patrick Bamford, Jack Harrison, Rodrigo, Luis Sinisterra and Georginio Rutter were all still in place for combinations in attack.
Arsenal
The elephant in the room: Saturday’s opposition. When the teams met in October there was consensus across the divide the hosts should have won that game.
In a campaign which is marching to the league title without too many missteps, that Leeds game was a day Arsenal were thoroughly outplayed and would have been lucky to draw, let alone win.
Saturday feels like an entirely different prospect. The Gunners have lost once in the league at home all season with six consecutive wins coming into this weekend’s match.
There was the early February wobble with one point from nine, but Mikel Arteta’s side look relentless in their march to the league title. The leaders have scored 19 goals in their last six league matches and conceded just five times.
Javi, your thoughts?
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