Daniel Farke has chosen his Leeds United starting XI to face Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup first round on Wednesday (9 August) at Elland Road, with six changes.
As verified by the club’s official Twitter account, the German has made changes from the squad that drew 2-2 with Cardiff City in Leeds‘ Championship opener on Sunday (6 August), including giving custodian Karl Darlow his debut in lieu of Illan Meslier.
Luke Ayling remains at right-back, with Jamie Shackleton, Leo Hjelde, and Charlie Cresswell rounding out the back four.
Ethan Ampadu and adolescent Archie Grey stay in midfield, while Ivan Poveda and Darko Gyabi are given starts, and Dan James is given another chance. Joe Gelhardt is tasked with leading the charge.
Opportunity to experiment
Early rounds of the EFL Cup are frequently met with minimal excitement.
Clubs are still in the process of determining who plays in their best XIs, and new players are still getting to know their teammates.
For Daniel Farke, this evening will be an opportunity to get some competitive minutes into his players’ legs, as well as a chance to look at some of his squad’s younger talent, especially with Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter still out, and Crysencio Summerville and captain Liam Cooper now also out.
Make no mistake, Leeds will be eager to achieve their first competitive win under Daniel Farke after battling back for a 2-2 draw against Cardiff City in their Championship opener on Sunday (6 August).
Leeds were 2-0 down at the break in that game, and it took a last-gasp equaliser from Summerville to salvage a point that they deserved, and it could have been three if it hadn’t been for some all-too-familiar defensive blunders.
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