Sunderland manager Mike Dodds has been speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Leeds United this evening.
The Black Cats are one of the few sides in the Championship left with nothing to play for in the final five matches of the season, though Dodds will be keen to make an impression before his time in the dugout comes to an end.
Dodds was actually in caretaker charge of Sunderland for the return fixture back in December, in which Leeds were beaten 1-0 courtesy of a Jobe Bellingham goal.
Leeds will need to avoid a repeat of that sort of scoreline tonight, with it the first of five more cup finals in their push to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Daniel Farke’s side were beaten for the first time in 2024 by Coventry City at the weekend, and simply have to bounce back ahead of Ipswich Town facing Watford tomorrow night.
Sunderland boss Dodds comments on Leeds bench ahead of tonight
Despite beating Leeds at the weekend, Coventry manager Mark Robins labelled the quality of Farke’s squad as a ‘joke’ at this level due to the players he was able to bring on.
With both Connor Roberts and Willy Gnonto back fit, they came off the bench. Expensive signing Joel Piroe, as well as bright young striker Mateo Joseph were also introduced.
Clearly when fully fit, Leeds have one of, if not the strongest squad in the division, which is something Dodds wanted to discuss in his pre-match press conference.
Dodds believes Leeds are on the sort of points tally you would expect due to the number of ‘Premier League quality’ players they have, both starting and on the bench.
He said: “Yeah and I’m sure the atmosphere helps that. I go back to my previous point, they’ve got Premier League quality. They’re the type of figures you would expect when you look at their squad, look at their players, their bench and players they don’t have available.
“They’re the figures you would expect and I mean that respectfully to Leeds United. Look, it’s going to be a tough game and you’re probably bored of me saying it in every press conference, there’s no easy games in this league.
“We’re going to have to go there and be 100 per cent. Every player is going to have to perform to the best of their ability, if we do that, we’ve got quality that can hurt them. They’ll be aware of that from the previous fixture. We’re looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to it.”
Farke must utilise his bench more for Leeds
Clearly the number of quality players he has on the bench is an advantage for Farke, and he must make the most of those options in the run-in.
The Championship is a long, gruelling 46-game season and with many of Leeds’ players also internationals, there have been some notably tired legs recently.
Aside from Saturday where he actually made a change at half-time, Farke has often waited until the final 20 minutes to utilise his bench and that is a mistake he simply cannot make in these last five matches.
If things are not going well in a particular game, Farke needs to be proactive in who he brings on. Gnonto, Joseph, Piroe, Roberts and even Jaidon Anthony all have the potential to change games. They must be used.