Leeds United will host Ipswich Town just two days before Christmas next time out, hoping to give the Elland Road masses an early present with three points at the end of what should be a barnstorming contest between two promotion hopefuls.
Picking up a victory in this potentially thrilling encounter would ease some worries in Leeds quarters, Daniel Farke’s side now winless in their last two matches after losing away to Sunderland narrowly and then having to settle for a share of the points against Coventry City despite dominating for large spells.
Farke might well have to be more cut-throat with his selection choices as the games start to come thick and fast in the Leeds calendar, the Whites showing signs of fatigue recently with the German boss not one for widespread rotation.
He might well have to change this approach, however, with one reserve defender becoming increasingly more eager for first team minutes at Elland Road.
Charlie Cresswell will hope he can get more opportunities to impress in the matches to come if selected, the patient 21-year-old sparingly utilised by his boss even after a promising loan switch to Millwall last campaign.
Charlie Cresswell’s numbers for Leeds this season
Only starting one game so far for the Whites in the Championship, the towering titan has shown signs of his obvious quality even in fleeting moments.
Cresswell played his only full 90 minutes away at Birmingham early on this season when the Leeds team was very much still finding its feet after relegation, putting in a sterling effort at the back despite the narrow 1-0 loss on the day.
Leeds’ number five was aerially strong in the game at St Andrew’s, winning all but one of his aerial duels against the Blues as per Sofascore.
Further, the 21-year-old didn’t shy away from making himself available for a pass in the game – amassing 95 touches in the defeat, accurate with 87% of his passes in a display that showed a real inner calmness for an inexperienced head.
Unfortunately for the one-time Millwall man, he could not quite kick on after starting this game with Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk since forming an effective partnership at the heart of defence.
Yet, Farke will see how he started this campaign and look at his time away in London as grounds for Cresswell being able to come in and do a job for the promotion challengers when required.
The 6 foot 3 Whites centre-back scored five times for the Lions in a fruitful loan stay at the Den, described by his then-manager Gary Rowett as “fabulous” in terms of his potential and “incredible” in his professionalism.
Struijk will be wary that he has keep his up his excellent form for Leeds with Cresswell breathing down his neck, the Dutch defender previously shaky in a Whites strip.
Pascal Struijk’s numbers for Leeds this season
Whilst other senior figures exited Leeds in the off-season – the likes of Rasmus Kristensen and Tyler Adams leaving West Yorkshire – Struijk decided to stick it out with the Whites in a bid to help his team mount an immediate return to the Premier League.
It’s been a largely positive season from a personal perspective for the Dutch defender, averaging 6.3 ball recoveries per game as a tireless presence.
Yet, he has had his fair share of off-days in the Championship too.
His individual display in a 3-1 home win over Swansea City was noticeably below-par despite Farke’s men picking up three points come the end of the game, the 24-year-old failing to go in for a single duel or tackle against the Swans in a weak showing.
He was then caught out most recently against Coventry on Saturday as Bobby Thomas managed to get up between him and Archie Gray to score.
Struijk also experienced a horror season during Leeds’ relegation down to the second tier, averaging a second-rate 6.75 Sofascore rating in the Premier League.
Whilst featuring for the Whites in that disastrous campaign, he helped his side pick up a pitiful four clean sheets from his 29 matches.
It even saw football pundit Clinton Morrison describe Struijk as looking uncomfortable during an FA Cup tie against Cardiff last season when speaking to Sky Sports, the 24-year-old now a key part of the Leeds jigsaw under Farke despite this poor season.
Still, with the fixture list becoming congested soon, there must be some temptation on the German manager’s end to switch things up slightly and potentially finally give Cresswell a start with the £50k-per-week Struijk – as per Capology – at risk of dropping out if so.
Farke must now unleash the England U21 international and see what he is capable of in a Leeds shirt at this level ahead of Struijk.
