With Saturdays loss to Charlton, Leeds United have not won since the Barnsley game. That’s only one win in in their last five games in all competitions, looking back you would say we should have won at least two more of those. A lack of quality chances being created, poor finishing and conceding sloppy goals have all been contributing factors but Marcelo Biela says it’s because “we didn't impose our superiority”. So how can we make our superiority count?
Here are four changes we think could make the difference…
1) Bring in Ayling as soon as possible
Bring back Luke Ayling as soon as he is available and play Dallas at left back, neither Alioski or Douglas have been convincing in a back four so far this season.
2) Play Costa and Hernandez as inverted wingers
Move Hernandez over to the left and bring Costa in to play right wing. Yes we would have less width but Costa is far better on the right and Pablo, although less comfortable can still do a job on the left, then we start games with two goal scoring wingers. Ayling and Dallas at wing back will provide plenty of width throughout the game. When that is ineffective bring on Clarke rather than Harrison, he is much more of a game changer.
3) Play Roberts alongside Klich
Klich is always at his best when he plays a bit deeper with a midfield partner like Roberts or Saiz running ahead of him. They free up the space for him to make the late runs into the box or to get shots off. Forshaw plays the ball too safe and as a result there's not much rotation in the middle and it's too easy to defend against. Plus Roberts can interchange with Pablo on the left and create overloads out wide.
4) Rotate between Bamford and Nketiah
The big question for Bielsa is how to fit both Bamford and Nketiah into the system. They both have different skills and some games will suit one player more than the other. Tuesday night suits Nketiah more because of his pace and direct running against Bartley.
Team selection is the only weakness Bielsa seems to have, players appear to be selected based more on loyalty and suitability to the system rather than their actual performances. The likes of Forshaw, Alioski and Harrison should only come on or play when we are ahead and holding on in games. Forshaw for his passing and Alioski and Harrison for their energy and defensive abilities.
The midfield four of Hernandez, Forshaw, Klich and Harrison has scored 4 goals combined. Hernandez hasn't scored since the second game of the season, Harrison the first of the season and Klich's only league goal has come from the penalty spot. Bamford also hasn't scored for four games, but he brings a lot to the team with his link up play, excellent movement and a much improved work rate. It’s time for Nketiah to get a chance in the team as he is more clinical in front of goal, especially while the rest of the team isn't scoring goals.
Could these four changes bring Leeds back to winning ways?
Content by Oscar, from our Scoring goals thread. You can catch Oscar on All Leeds TV.