Leeds United host Plymouth Argyle at Elland Road in the Championship this afternoon as they look to head into the November international break on a high.
The Whites are coming into this match off the back of an impressive 1-0 win over league leaders Leicester City and have the opportunity to make it three wins in succession if they can pick up all three points today.
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Journalist Phil Hay relayed the latest injury news from Daniel Farke’s pre-match press conference and a number of players are set to miss out on this clash.
Central defender Pascal Struijk will be unavailable for selection and is due to return after the international break as he deals with a hernia surgery.
Patrick Bamford is said to be a minor doubt for the match, whilst Charlie Cresswell, Stuart Dallas, Joe Gelhardt, and Jamie Shackleton are all out.
However, the German tactician could make one alteration to his XI that is not enforced by an injury with Wilfried Gnonto being unleashed ahead of Joel Piroe, whose performances have been less-than-impressive of late.
Joel Piroe’s recent performances
The summer signing from Swansea City has only scored once in his last seven Championship matches for Leeds and is without a goal in his last four outings for the club.
He hit the ground running in Yorkshire with four goals in his first five games for Farke’s side but has struggled to find the back of the net since that initial burst and is currently sitting on five goals in 15 league appearances for the Whites and Swansea combined this term.
Piroe played 84 minutes against Leicester, having started the match, and failed to score whilst also ending his time on the pitch with zero key passes and four out of seven duels lost.
The Leeds boss must now unleash Gnonto from the start ahead of the Dutch marksman to offer the 20-year-old a chance to impress before the break.
Gnonto’s statistics this season
He has found starts had to come by this season but has caught the eye when given the opportunity to showcase his talent on the pitch for the Yorkshire-based outfit.
Gnonto has scored one goal and created nine chances in his last four starts for Leeds in all competitions, whilst he also assisted Crysencio Summerville off the bench for the first of his two goals against Norwich.
The Italy international, who was once hailed as “unpredictable” by journalist Josh Bunting, came into this season off the back of two goals and four assists in 14 Premier League starts last term.
![[FBCharts] Degnand Gnonto](https://static0.footballfancastimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/fbcharts-degnand-gnonto.png?q=50&fit=crop&dpr=1.5)
He does have the potential to make things happen as a progressive and dangerous attacker, as shown by the 5 foot 7 dynamo’s impressive statistics in the graph above, and bringing him into the XI could give Piroe extra motivation to rekindle his form in front of goal.
It would show the former Swans star that his place in the starting line up is not guaranteed and add further competition for places within the squad, whilst also allowing Gnonto to showcase his quality to stake a claim for a regular spot in the side.
