For the second time in a month, Leeds and Liverpool meet in the Premier League, but Arne Slot hopes his team can maintain a winning margin this time.
There will be a change in personnel and likely formation for Leeds after Joe Rodon picked up an injury in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
The centre-back played every competitive minute for Daniel Farke until he was forced off in the 31st minute, and is now expected to miss out at Anfield.
“Not good,” said Farke when inquired about Rodon’s condition after the match. “Joe is my warrior. He has played so many games in a row and of course he wanted to stay on the field.”
“[He] got a blow on his ankle, and in doing so I think he twisted his ankle too, and it is quite swollen.
“At this stage I doubt he will be available for Liverpool and also for the upcoming games before the FA Cup tie, so we will have to wait for further assessment.”
“But right now, right after the game, it doesn’t look so good.”
Liverpool, on the other hand, appeared to be unaffected by their win over Wolves and instead welcomed back Conor Bradley and Cody Gakpo following their respective fitness issues.
Leeds could now change their formation vs. Liverpool
Leeds ended their run of defeats by switching to a 3-5-2 formation, resulting in two wins and three draws from the last five, including the 3-3 draw against Liverpool.
Rodon is crucial to this setup, and his withdrawal from Sunderland saw Leeds return to a back four of Jayden Bogle, Jaka Bijol, Pascal Struijk and Gabriel Gudmundsson.
However, the switch saw Farke’s side dominate Sunderland in the second half as they scored, had a total of eleven shots and created three big chances, while keeping Sunderland to a clean sheet.
This should have caught the attention of Arne Slot, who witnessed his side shut down opponents and apply pressure in the second half.
In their last four league matches, Liverpool have conceded a total of 30 shots in the second half, 11 of which were on target, compared to just three shots on target in the first half.
Possible Leeds XI: Perri; Bogle, Bijol, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Ampadu, Aaronson, Stach; Tanaka, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin
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