The German coach should unleash the young potential from the outset on Friday.
The fixture computer has not been kind to Leeds United this week, as they travel to Sheffield Wednesday just three days after beating Stoke City 1-0 on Tuesday.
Daniel Farke’s team must deal with two Championship matches – on Tuesday and Friday – in the same midweek amid the battle for automatic promotion.
As a result of the tight turnaround, the German head coach may want to make some changes to his starting lineup from the triumph against the Potters at Elland Road.
Patrick Bamford, who had a poor performance against Stoke, should be pulled for this game against the Owls and replaced by Mateo Joseph.
Patrick Bamford’s stats versus Stoke.
The former England international had a rough evening at Elland Road on Tuesday night, struggling to break into the game for the Whites.
Bamford, who was purchased from Middlesbrough for £10 million in 2018, played the first 71 minutes of the encounter but did not score or create any chances for his teammates.
| Patrick Bamford | Vs Stoke |
|---|---|
| Minutes played | 71 |
| Expected Goals | 0.22 |
| Goals | Zero |
| Key passes | Zero |
| Ground duels won | Zero |
| Pass accuracy | 78% (18/23) |
| Stats via Sofascore | |
As shown in the table above, the 30-year-old marksman was careless in possession and performed poorly on the ball.
Given his excellent form leading up to the game, the English star delivered an unexpectedly poor effort. He has seven goals and two assists in his previous 11 outings across all competitions.
Given Bamford’s dismal performance and the fact that Leeds are playing for the second time in four days, Farke must drop the experienced striker and unleash Joseph from the outset.
Why should Farke unleash Joseph?
The 20-year-old centre-forward has yet to play a Championship game, but he recently demonstrated his ability from the start against Chelsea in the FA Cup.
He was selected to lead the line at Stamford Bridge in the fifth round and delivered an outstanding performance against the Premier League side.
Joseph, as seen in the video above, opened the scoring in London with a composed finish inside the box following a mistake by the Blues in defence.
The England U20 international scored his second goal of the night in the second half with a superb header from close range, and Chelsea went on to win 3-2.
In addition to winning two ground duels, Joseph completed 81% of his attempted passes and created two opportunities for his teammates on the night.
The academy product, who analyst Ben Mattinson described as “dynamite” inside the box, is searching for his first Championship goal for the club after scoring 17 goals in 28 Premier League 2 games for the U21s.
He established himself as a regular scorer for the youthful Leeds side and has now demonstrated his goalscoring potential on a larger scale with his performance against Chelsea, which is why Farke should give him an opportunity against Sheffield Wednesday.
The German manager must harshly drop Bamford after his terrible performance last time out and unleash the 5’11 prodigy against Danny Rohl’s team.
