Welcome Leeds United boost with player return and attacking change at Sunderland with first choice pair out
Leeds United team news is in for Friday night’s Championship clash at Sunderland.
Daniel Farke has made two changes to his Leeds United team for Friday night’s Championship clash at Sunderland amid a stack of injuries and absence of a first choice pair.
Centre midfield duo Ilia Gruev and captain Ethan Ampadu are both facing spells on the sidelines with knee injuries and Gruev is replaced in the XI by Joe Rothwell as one of two changes to the team.
The other change sees Joel Piroe handed a start in the front line as young striker Mateo Joseph drops to the bench.
Ampadu injured his knee in last weekend’s win at home to Coventry City and was replaced by Ao Tanaka for the midweek clash at Norwich City in which Gruev then suffered knee damage too.
Max Wober, Dan James, Manor Solomon and Isaac Schmidt also missed the midweek clash at Norwich due to injuries and Schmidt was the only one óf the quartet given a realistic chance of featuring at Sunderland.
In a very welcome Whites boost amid the injuries, Schmidt has returned to be part of the squad and takes his place on the bench.
Sunderland, who sit top of the division, are unchanged. Ex-Leeds player Leo Hjelde is among those on the bench.
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, O’Nien, Mepham, Cirkin, Neil, Jobe, Rigg, Roberts, Mundle, Isidor. Subs: Moore, Hjelde, Johnson, Aleksić, Ba, Rusyn, Browne, Connolly, Watson