Leeds United are set to play host to Middlesbrough in the Championship at Elland Road this afternoon as they go in search of back-to-back victories.
The Whites head into this match off the back of a 3-1 win over Swansea City on Wednesday night and they are seven points adrift of Ipswich Town in second place.
Daniel Farke’s side are chasing down the automatic promotion places as they attempt to secure an instant return to the Premier League.
The German head coach confirmed ahead of the game that Junior Firpo and Joe Gelhardt are the only fresh injury absentees who will not be available to feature today.
Despite no players from his starting XI against Swansea being unavailable, Farke could make one change by finally unleashing Djed Spence from the start.
The right-back was an unused substitute against the Swans and should be brought in to start this match, if fit, as he could form an exciting partnership with Wilfried Gnonto down the right flank.
Wilfried Gnonto’s Leeds statistics
FFC have predicted the Italy international to start on the right ahead of Daniel James, who could be rested, for this clash with Middlesbrough.
The 20-year-old whiz has produced three goals and five assists in 21 league starts for Leeds since the start of the 2022/23 Premeir League campaign.
Gnonto is a versatile forward who has experience playing centrally and out wide and could thrive on the right side of the attack if he is an attack-minded right-back who can create overloads to exploit in the final third.
The Italian talent could use Spence’s attacking thrust to come in to central positions from the right, both to create space for him in central areas around the box and to open up room for the full-back to sprint forward on the overlap to provide crosses.
Why Djed Spence should start against Middlesbrough
Leeds signed the right-back on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer and his only appearance to date came at the start of September against Sheffield Wednesday.
However, his previous form at Championship level suggests that he has the attacking capabilities to provide more of a threat at the top end of the pitch than Archie Gray, who has been deployed out of position in the back four.
Gray has produced zero assists, one ‘big chance’ created, and 0.6 key passes per game across 17 outings in the second tier so far this season.
Whereas, Spence scored two goals, provided four assists, created six ‘big chances’, and made one key pass per game over his 42 league matches on loan at Nottingham Forest during the 2021/22 campaign.
Former Arsenal forward once hailed the 6 foot gem’s “swashbuckling” full-back performance against the Gunners whilst the defender was at Forest, which is backed up by his impressive attacking contributions for the Tricky Trees.
His aforementioned statistics at Championship level suggest that Spence has the potential to offer more quality in possession than Gray, who is not a natural right-back and has been more reserved as a result.
Therefore, Gnonto – or James if he starts – would love the 23-year-old dynamo alongside him on the right flank to cause havoc for the opposition defence.
