Football

Farke must now drop £18m Leeds star at Wembley

Leeds United fans descending onto Wembley on Sunday afternoon have even greater reason to believe their beloved team can reach the FA Cup final.

After all, heading into the semi-final showdown with Chelsea, the Blues are without a permanent manager, after dismissing Liam Rosenior after a torrid three months at Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea have lost their last five league games in a row, Daniel Farke‘s men continue to pick up brave points when needed, as a 97th-minute equaliser against AFC Bournemouth, last time out in the Premier League, pushed them further away from the dreaded drop zone.

Still, the performance in the 2-2 draw on the South Coast wasn’t faultless, with several underperformers perhaps at risk of being axed for the Wembley showdown later today.

The changes Leeds need to make after Bournemouth

The magnitude of the game on Sunday cannot be understated from a Leeds perspective, with this being the first semi-final the Whites have contested in the esteemed competition in a long 39 years.

Therefore, the West Yorkshire giants will want to give their all to reach the FA Cup final, meaning an underwhelming Jayden Bogle could be dropped for the trip down to Wembley.

Noted as being touch-and-go for the Chelsea tie by Farke, having suffered a slight foot injury against the Cherries, he might well come out of the side, too, due to a poor first-half display against Andoni Iraola’s hosts, with possession given away a haphazard ten times, from only 25 touches of the ball.

Moreover, could Farke be tempted to bring Lucas Perri back in for this monumental clash at the home of football?

After all, in the last round of the FA Cup, the Frenchman was Leeds’ hero from the spot, as the Whites just about edged past West Ham United in a penalty shoot-out.

Additionally, Karl Darlow looked arguably weak between the sticks against Bournemouth, with only a 57% pass accuracy registered, and he was twice forced to fish the ball out of his net.

Thankfully, Leeds bounced back right at the death through Sean Longstaff, but the German will have been left with plenty to chew over from the 2-2 draw, as he contemplates dropping this star, who had fewer touches of the ball than Darlow against Iraola’s side.

Farke could now bench £18m star at Wembley

To beat Chelsea, Farke will need all of his key attackers firing on all cylinders, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin needing to shove his goal-shy display against the Cherries to one side, to be Leeds’ main marksman at Wembley.

He could be tempted to drop Noah Okafor in this regard, as while Calvert-Lewin won six determined duels against the Cherries, the Swiss forward went missing for large portions of the game.

Okafor vs Bournemouth
Stat	Okafor
Minutes played	64
Goals scored	0
Assists	0
Touches	30
Shots	2
Accurate passes	10/13 (77%)
Accurate crosses	0/1
Successful dribbles	4/7
Possession lost	11x

Indeed, while he did clatter the woodwork with one of his efforts on the night, Okafor just wasn’t at the rampaging best that saw him collect a double against Manchester United, and a singular strike versus Wolverhampton Wanderers, with only 30 touches of the ball amassed.

As previously stated, even Darlow managed to accumulate more when coming away from the entertaining encounter with 52 next to his name.

Losing possession a worrying 11 times, from so few touches, Farke might well want to shake up his attack for such a high-stakes game, with Leeds having to hold onto possession more carefully, and be accurate in front of goal in a flash, to beat the managerless Blues.

Wilfried Gnonto might well be the £18m ace‘s replacement, with the Italian well accustomed to nervy games now for the Whites, across his long-standing Elland Road career, having scored a penalty during the Hammers shoot-out.

Whatever team does take to the field, with Farke surely tempted to bring Joe Rodon back in as a leader figure, the hope will be that Leeds don’t freeze on the big stage, with an FA Cup final on the horizon, elevating the unfolding season away from just a relegation scrap.