The winter months are drawing in and for Leeds United that means their Championship schedule is about to intensify. The Whites have already been challenged by the rigours of the second tier, with 11 games being squeezed into the first couple of months, but between October 21 and New Year’s Day, Leeds will be asked to play 15 games, including seven in December alone.
As such, Daniel Farke’s squad will be pushed to its limits over the coming months, and rotation looks set to become frequent as the manager tries to keep things fresh and manage the workloads of his most used men. Consequently, players who have found chances hard to come by over the first quarter of the Championship season, look set to be given more opportunities.
Here’s five who will be hoping to get the nod during at some point during the run-in to Christmas and the festive period.
Ilia Gruev
The Bulgarian has been used sparingly during his time at Elland Road so far, making just three late appearances off the bench. As such, Leeds fans haven’t really managed to get a firm grip of his game or an understanding of what he can offer the Whites.
However, Gruev will almost certainly have a role to play as the games continue to come thick and fast. It seems unlikely that Ethan Ampadu will continue to play every minute of every game moving forwards and when Farke eventually looks to give the Welshman a well-earned rest, Gruev will be ready to make an impression.
The midfielder has picked up minutes on international duty to ensure he is fresh and Farke will hope to see the former Werder Bremen man step in seamlessly.
Patrick Bamford
Bamford missed Leeds’ first eight games through injury after damaging his hamstring in the Whites’ final pre-season friendly clash at Hearts. However, he returned to the fold against Southampton at the end of September and he featured in the two home games that followed against QPR and Bristol City.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t make much of an impact in front of goal, but he’ll be looking to build up his form once more off the bench over the coming weeks to persuade Farke that he is ready to lead the line if Georginio Rutter needs to be rested. The German clearly rates Bamford extremely highly and should a change be required, he won’t be looking much further than the former England international.
Ian Poveda
Poveda caught the eye in pre-season and looked set to play a key role for the Whites under Farke. However, at the time of writing, he has made just four league appearances with his only start coming in the loss at Birmingham City in Leeds’ second game of the season.
He’s had to be patient, then, but more opportunities will emerge for him as temperature drop off, particularly given his ability to play in the middle or on the flank. Farke does have attacking options at his disposal, but Poveda’s skillset offers something slightly different and he certainly has what it takes to nail down an impact substitute role if he doesn’t get the nod to start.
Charlie Cresswell
Cresswell can certainly count himself unfortunate not to have played more league minutes for the Whites this season. He was the man chosen to step into the fray after Liam Cooper’s opening day injury and he impressed in the loss to Birmingham City the following week.
The signing of Joe Rodon has seen him drop down the pecking order, though, and he has made just two appearances of the bench since, with both outings coming in stoppage time in an attempt to see out results. Rodon and Pascal Struijk are the preferred centre-back partnership but there’s a lot of action coming and if Farke feels the need to hand out a rest or two, he might find himself looking Cresswell’s way.
Junior Firpo
Firpo hasn’t been fit enough to make an appearance just yet, but he’s on the comeback trail and he isn’t thought to be far away from full fitness once more. In his absence Sam Byram has more than nailed down the role of Leeds’ first choice left-back, ensuring Firpo might have to wait for his opportunity to impress and build some momentum in the Championship.
However, Byram’s workload does need to be managed carefully and it seems highly unlikely that the 30-year-old will start every game over the coming weeks and months. That could open the door to Firpo, then, and he’ll be keen to grasp any opportunity with both hands as he strives to finally establish himself at Elland Road.