Leeds United temporarily moved to the top of the Championship table on Tuesday night with a relatively comfortable 2-1 win over Watford at Elland Road.
Largie Ramazani handed the home side the lead after just four minutes as his strike from distance was fumbled by Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, who was then unable to prevent it from crossing the line.
It was then 2-0 just three minutes later thanks to another gift from the shot-stopper, who parried a cross from Wilfried Gnonto straight into the path of Brenden Aaronson, for him to find the back of the net.
The Whites are now top of the league and will be hoping that their rivals slip up on Wednesday night to maintain their place in the automatic promotion places ahead of the weekend.
Daniel Farke’s side travel away from West Yorkshire to take on Bristol City at Ashton Gate in the lunchtime kick-off in the Championship on Saturday.
The German head coach may be forced into making a couple of changes to his starting line-up from the win over Watford, though, after a couple of issues cropped up on Tuesday night.
The Leeds players who could miss out against Bristol City
Firstly, there will be a change at left-back for the Whites after Junior Firpo picked up his fifth booking of the season in the second tier, which has triggered an automatic one-match suspension.
The 28-year-old star has produced one goal and three assists in 11 appearances for Leeds so far this term, along with 3.9 tackles and interceptions per match.
This shows that he has made an impact at both ends of the pitch and will, therefore, be a loss in the game against Bristol City, with Isaac Schmidt and Sam Byram potential replacements for him on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ramazani also looks set to be unavailable for selection after he was withdrawn from the game after just 14 minutes with an ankle injury.
After the match, Farke revealed that it was a “painful” roll or twist of the ankle for the Belgian forward, who was caught with a strong challenge on the touchline.
The German head coach added that it would be “difficult” for the summer signing from Almeria to be available for the clash with Bristol City, due to the short turnaround between Tuesday night and Saturday lunch.
This suggests that Leeds will have to make a change to their starting XI on the left flank when they travel to Ashton Gate on Saturday, and it is down to Farke to decide on his best option to come in.
The summer signing has been in impressive form since his move to Elland Road during the last transfer window, in an attempt to replace Crysencio Summerville partially, and will be hard to replace.
Largie Ramazani's form this season
The 23-year-old star has not taken much time at all to settle back into life in England, having come through the academy system at Manchester United prior to his move to Spain to shine for Almeria.
His goal against Watford was certainly fortunate, as Bachmann made a huge error to palm the ball back into his own net, but it was still a strong strike from distance by the winger and he gave the goalkeeper a chance to make a mistake by fizzing the shot with pace and swerve to make it difficult.
That was his third goal in six starts for Leeds in the Championship so far this season, as the young attacker has shown that he can provide a big goal threat from a wide left position.
Starts
6
xG
1.82
Goals
3
Assists
1
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.8
As you can see in the table above, Ramazani has produced four direct goal contributions in six starts in the second tier, whilst outperforming his xG tally.
He has also contributed defensively, with 1.8 tackles and interceptions per game, and these statistics show that the forward has made a positive impact at both ends of the pitch.
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Manor Solomon came on to replace him against the Hornets on Tuesday night but he must move aside for Farke to unleash Dan James from the start, to ease the blow of losing Ramazani through injury.
Why Dan James should start over Manor Solomon
The Tottenham Hotspur loanee came on in the 14th minute and put in a solid, if unspectacular, performance down the left flank for the Whites.
He failed to provide a goal or an assist in his 75 minutes on the pitch, before being substituted for Sam Byram in the final minutes, and managed one shot on target and zero ‘big chances’ created.
Since his move to Elland Road in the summer, Solomon has produced zero goals, one assist, and one ‘big chance’ created in four appearances for the club – assisting Mateo Joseph’s goal against Hull.
James, meanwhile, came on for the last 18 minutes and earned a player rating of 8/10 from LeedsLive’s Beren Cross, who hailed his pace, energy, and creativity.
In those 18 minutes, the Wales international created two ‘big chances’ for his teammates – twice as many as Solomon has in four appearances – but was not rewarded with an assist for his efforts.
Appearances
40
Starts
28
Goals
13
Assists
7
Big chances created
13
As you can see in the table above, James is also a proven Championship performer who showcased his quality as both a scorer and a creator in the division during the 2023/24 campaign for Farke.
The winger contributed with a stunning 26 goals and ‘big chances’ created in 28 starts in the league to help Leeds reach the play-offs and should, therefore, be trusted by the manager to come in and perform on Saturday.
Solomon is yet to prove himself in a Leeds shirt and James outperformed him in just 18 minutes on Tuesday night, which is why he should be the man to ease the blow of losing Ramazani through injury.
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