Leeds United team vs Newcastle United confirmed with eight changes & Ao Tanaka decision
Leeds United welcome the Magpies to Elland Road tonight for a big Premier League clash under the lights.
Daniel Farke has confirmed his Leeds United starting line-up to face Newcastle United with a return to the team that kicked things off at Brighton.
The Whites return to Elland Road for just the second time this season, despite this being their sixth game across all competitions. Back-to-back away cup draws played a part but won’t anymore, thanks to last week’s 6-3 Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea.
That was Leeds’ first defeat of the campaign and they remain unbeaten from three games in the Premier League. Their only other game at Elland Road ended 1-1 against an impressive Brentford side while last weekend they drew by the same scoreline at Brighton.
Leeds could climb into the top four with victory tonight and in a bid to get a huge win on the board, Farke has made eight changes from the rotated side that started at Chelsea. James Trafford has come back in goal, replacing Michael Zetterer who struggled on debut at Stamford Bridge.
Ahead of him, Tarik Muharemovic and James Justin keep their places on the left and right of the back three respectively. The defensive changes comes in the central centre-back role, with Jaka Bijol also struggling at Chelsea and replaced by Nico Elvedi.
Ethan Ampadu captains the side on his 26th birthday and starts in a midfield three alongside Ao Tanaka and Anton Stach. The latter is likely to be the more advanced.
Upfront, Dominic Calvert-Lewin returns to the starting-XI after scoring off the bench at Chelsea in midweek. He’s joined by Noah Okafor who will be given license to drift wide.
Leeds XI in full: Trafford; Justin, Elvedi, Muharemovic; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Stach, Gudmundsson; Okafor, Calvert-Lewin
Subs: Zetterer, Bijol, Bard, Longstaff, Aaronson, James, Wilson, Bahoya, Nmecha