Leeds United will look to end a run of seven matches without a win in all competitions when they face Sheffield United in a Yorkshire derby at Bramall Lane on Saturday.
The Whites last tasted victory on Boxing Day when they beat Burton Albion 2-1 at the Pirelli Stadium, and their latest 4-1 loss against Cardiff City at Elland Road last weekend saw manager Thomas Christiansen get the chop, with the club slipping to 10th position and seven points adrift of the play-off position after the result.
Former Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom was quickly handed the reins of the fellow Yorkshire outfit, and he faces a tough first task with a trip to some fellow promotion hopefuls, especially as he will be without a number of key first-team stars.
Liam Cooper, Samu Saiz and Gaetano Berardi – who was sent off against the Bluebirds – are all suspended, while Conor Shaughnessy and Luke Ayling will definitely miss out because of injury, and Caleb Ekuban is a doubt.
Heckingbottom will be well aware of the important of his first match in charge given they could fall even further away from the top six if they lose, and he is asking for trouble if he fails to make a couple of alterations to the XI.
Here are two changes the 40-year-old must make to his Leeds team when they face the Blades…
Vurnon Anita for Gaetano Berardi
Replacing Berardi would have been an enforced change that Heckingbottom had to make this weekend anyway with the Italian suspended after being dismissed against Cardiff last time out, but the 40-year-old needs to make the right decision on Saturday.
After Pontus Jansson had been stretchered off and Berardi saw red, Christiansen went with a three-man defence for the second-half against the Bluebirds but Leeds’ new boss should line up with four at the back at Bramall Lane.
While it may not be his first-choice position, Anita proved at Newcastle last season that he is a more than capable of doing a decent job at right-back, and with Jansson, Matthew Pennington and new boy Laurens De Bock all available, the defence really picks itself.
The Dutchman will certainly bring some experience to the backline, and that could be vital in helping the Whites pick up a positive result against their Yorkshire rivals.
Stuart Dallas for Gianni Alioski
Because of injuries and suspensions, Paul Heckingbottom doesn’t a plethora of options to change things hugely this weekend, but out wide could be a place where he looks to mix things up a little bit.
Alioski is without a goal and assist in his last nine Championship appearances despite playing 84 minutes or more in seven of those, and it is probably time for the Macedonia international to be dropped to the substitutes’ bench given his loss of form.
Meanwhile, Dallas has only played 84 minutes or more three times in the league all season, but he made something of a decent impact against Neil Warnock’s men last weekend when his cross forced Sol Bamba to put through his own net.
The Northern Ireland international will feel that he has deserved more opportunities throughout the campaign, and he must get one in place of Alioski at Bramall Lane.
Do you agree, Whites fans? Let us know below.
