In preparation for tonight’s match against Stoke City, Daniel Farke might be inclined to alter his Leeds United lineup.
This evening, the Whites play their third of four games at Elland Road in only nine days, and Farke will want to make sure the team is rested to get back to winning ways.
For the weekend’s draw at Huddersfield Town, Leeds was without Pascal Struijk, Joe Gelhardt, Jamie Shackleton, and Stuart Dallas; nevertheless, they now have a few more selection concerns.
Junior Firpo was listed as a minor doubt because of a calf issue, Shackleton is following concussion procedures, and Jaidon Anthony is out for personal reasons.
But, by uploading a pre-match graphic to his Instagram story—something many players do on matchday—the £13 million player Firpo may have just given away that he is in the starting lineup for tonight’s game.
One of these is posted by Firpo prior to each game in which he participates. Among those who also do so are Illan Meslier, Georginio Rutter, and Ethan Ampadu.
This post is undoubtedly a strong indication that he will be involved tonight in some way, given there was no pre-match coverage from Rutter when he was absent from last week’s loss to Chelsea, for example.
Firpo has performed admirably since joining the starting lineup at the beginning of January, but there is always a chance that he may sustain an injury, so starting him could be dangerous.
Leeds has another short turnaround this Friday against Sheffield Wednesday; possibly some rotation there is necessary to prevent injuries.
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