Leeds United face Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest at Pirelli Stadium on Thursday night and here are five things to look out for around the pre-season friendly
Settling on a midfield
In one match, his first, Ethan Ampadu effectively made himself one of the first names on the teamsheet at Elland Road for Cardiff City’s arrival a week on Sunday. The bigger question now is who will play alongside him.
Archie Gray was almost as impressive as Ampadu in that Monaco defeat and, despite his age, the teenager must be a strong contender to start that game with Cardiff. Even if Daniel Farke wanted to protect the 17-year-old, he hardly has too many other options to play there.
Darko Gyabi will have designs of his own for the coming season and it will be interesting to see if he gets a real run at Pirelli Stadium tonight to stake his claim for the Cardiff clash.
Byram again?
Sam Byram’s training programme has continued at Thorp Arch this week. The 29-year-old continues to take advantage of his links to club and manager in an effort to get fit for the new season.
The Whites, publicly, remain non-committal on where this arrangement is going, but, for now, you would assume he is involved again tonight. It will be intriguing to see if Byram, a free agent, is given a start and more pitch time than the likes of Leo Hjelde, a contracted player for next season, at left-back.
Surprise absences
When eight contracted players were missing from Saturday’s teamsheet, it set tongues wagging. We know Stuart Dallas, Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo, Sam Greenwood and Tyler Adams are recovering from injuries.
We can also assume Helder Costa’s future lies further afield and he may not be risked when a move away is still the expectation. Will there be another Max Wober, though?
The Austrian was missing on Saturday and it was not until Farke spoke after the game we learned he was sat in the departures lounge. If anyone noteworthy is missing tonight, assumptions will be leapt to.
Who is next in the number 10 chair?
Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt and Crysencio Summerville have all been used by Farke in the hole behind the front man through the two public friendlies we have seen. The German has effectively admitted there are no natural playmakers who can fill that role in its traditional sense.
While Nick Hammond and the recruitment team work on solutions, Farke must find his own from within the group he already has. This is just one of several roles Farke will be mulling over through the friendlies and reporting back on his wants and needs in the market.
Any edge at right-back?
Cody Drameh and Luke Ayling had a half each at right-back in Oslo before the latter took 65 minutes to the former’s 25 in York on Saturday. Where is Farke leaning as the new season approaches?
If Drameh starts and takes the lion’s share tonight then we may be back to a 50-50 decision for Heart of Midlothian and Cardiff, but if Ayling is Farke’s man once more tonight, the vice-captain could be edging that call for the German.
