Before Leeds’ trip to the King Power Stadium on Friday, Maresca was questioned during his pre-game press conference. He was asked about the risks Daniel Farke’s team will present.
Leeds is currently 14 points behind the Foxes at the top of the league after they have started the season with a record-breaking 39 points out of a possible 42.
Leeds, on the other hand, has won four of their previous five games and has been playing some decent football lately. Their attacking prowess is also beginning to show.
With five goals and three assists in October, Crysencio Summerville has been instrumental in the majority of that, and Dan James is now beginning to truly establish himself in Leeds’ lineup.
Maresca says Leicester need to be wary of Leeds trio
Speaking about the areas where Leicester needs to exercise caution on Friday, Maresca adds that Summerville, Dan James, and Willy Gnonto’s quickness pose the biggest risks to his team.
We know they perform well during transitions, but it is not all that they are good at. We must exercise caution since Summerville, James, and Gnonto move quickly. We now require a lot of passes before attacking. They’ll strike quickly if we strike quickly. We are opposed to that.
In the 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town last Saturday, Summerville and James were outstanding. The former not only scored two goals himself, but also set up the other one for the Welshman.
Given the performance of the two players ahead of him, Gnonto is unlikely to start, but in the Championship this season, managers won’t have many better options.
Given the quality of Leicester’s defense and their own threats in the final third, Leeds’ attack must click and be as clinical as possible if they are to salvage any points from the game.
In a related development:
Phil Hay names biggest call in Leeds United starting XI v Leicester after Summerville news
Phil Hay has inquired as to whether Daniel Farke will alter his starting lineup for Leeds United’s Friday, November 3 matchup against Leicester City.
The Whites head to King Power Stadium for a pivotal Championship match, where Crysencio Summerville is anticipated to be OK based on his most recent injury update.
Hay thinks Farke would be tempted to stick with the lineup after the victory over Huddersfield, with the greatest alteration being the potential return of Archie.
What Hay anticipates from the team chosen for King Power Stadium was discussed in an interview with the Squareball podcast during their pregame preview.
He stated, “He’s had a shoulder injury.”
Farke stated before the Stoke match that he had to use painkillers to get through some of these games due to a slight shoulder ache, which prevented him from starting that match.
“I would have thought, that a week would have been long enough for him to be ready. I do think to an extent, the game on Saturday kind of crystallised the idea of what Farke’s best XI is or something pretty close to his best XI.
“I think Summerville has to be in that, and absolutely think Dan James has to be in that as well, I don’t think you’re making many changes, if any to that starting line-up from Saturday.
“I’m not even sure you would bring Archie Gray back in place of Shackleton at right back, but that’s probably the biggest of the calls there.”
Big call.
It is reasonable to assume that Leeds will start with the same lineup as they did against Huddersfield, but you never know.
Compared to our local opponents, Leicester presents a considerably different test, as the table-toppers are presently chasing every Championship record in existence.
Though the Foxes didn’t exactly blow teams away in their most recent Championship matchup against Queens Park Rangers, Leeds will fancy their chances.
This season, Shackleton and Gray have both performed admirably when called upon, and you also have Luke Ayling’s expertise to potentially draw from.
While having options is good for Farke, he must make the decision based on his judgment; this is not the time to make unique choices in an attempt to please everyone.
It’s imperative that the squad wins; hopefully, they can.
