Daniel Farke will certainly be toying with the idea of making some changes to his Leeds United starting XI against Norwich City tomorrow.
The two sides go head-to-head under the Elland Road lights in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals with the tie very much still in the balance.
Leeds came away from the first leg in Norfolk on Sunday slightly happier than Norwich with the result following a cagey 0-0 draw.
Daniel Farke sprung a tactical surprise to his line-up for that game as he brought Archie Gray into a three-man midfield with Georginio Rutter leading the line pretty ineffectively. It was the first time all season he went with that setup.
Farke was clearly happy to ensure Leeds avoided defeat at a place where Norwich have been so strong all season.
Only Ipswich Town, Leeds and Leicester City had better home records than the Canaries in the regular campaign, with their last defeat coming back in early November.
Adrian Clarke shares why Dan James starting would lift Leeds crowd
Being back at Elland Road, the onus will now be on Leeds with home advantage behind them to open up a bit more and go for the jugular.
Aside from the penalty decision which perhaps should have gone Willy Gnonto’s way in the first half, Leeds’ front three and Gray just couldn’t get into the game.
Leeds managed just two tame shots on target across the 90 minutes and so it would not be a surprise if Farke reverted back to a more attack-minded side.
Speaking on the latest episode of the ‘What The EFL Podcast‘, pundit Adrian Clarke has urged Farke to recall Dan James back into his starting line-up to re-light the fire of Leeds’ attack as he ‘would get the crowd going’.
He said: “I do think it will be cagey. If Leeds score early then maybe they will be able to have a little bit of fun with it and maybe they will find that momentum. Willy Gnonto was maybe the one who looked sharper than some of the others at the weekend.
“I would definitely bring in Dan James. I think his pace and directness would get the crowd going, take Leeds up the pitch and frighten Norwich City a bit because he has got that speed.”
Will Dan James bit fit enough to start for Leeds?
As per the Yorkshire Evening Post, Farke said after Sunday’s game that James was on the bench as more of a good luck charm rather than someone who could come on and make an impact.
The ‘fabulous’ James had missed Leeds’ last two games of the season through injury and a late call was made on his inclusion in the squad at the weekend.
The 26-year-old did come on for the final three minutes, but it is not often Jaidon Anthony has been used ahead of him over the last few months.
It remains to be seen whether the three days of recovery time between the two legs is enough to get James match fit enough to start.