Leeds United return from the international break as they prepare to travel to Wales to take on Swansea City in the Championship this afternoon.
The Whites have had to wait until the majority of the other teams in the league played on Friday and Saturday, and now know that they can move into the automatic promotion places with a win over the Swans.
Daniel Farke‘s side secured a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road in their last match before the break, and will be looking to build on that with another three points.
However, there were still some underwhelming performances from Leeds players in that victory over Marti Cifuentes’ team, with Manor Solomon potentially in danger of losing his place in the XI.
Manor Solomon’s performance against QPR
The Tottenham Hotspur loanee was selected to start on the left flank against QPR and failed to make the most of his opportunity to impress.
In his 72 minutes on the pitch for Leeds, the Israel international missed a ‘big chance’ and failed to create any chances for his teammates, with that miss coming in the second half after his shot from close range was smothered by Paul Nardi.
Solomon failed with both of his attempted dribbles and lost five of his eight duels throughout the game, which shows that QPR’s players found it far too easy to get the better of him.
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The 25-year-old flop has now gone seven Championship games without a goal or an assist, since recording an assist against Hull on his debut, and Farke must ruthlessly drop him to the bench after another match without an attacking contribution.
The player who should replace Manor Solomon for Leeds
Dan James was on the bench against QPR and bringing him back in from the start would allow the German head coach to drop Solomon out of the starting line-up.
The Wales international had started the three league games prior to the last match and should be brought straight back into the XI for this afternoon’s clash with Swansea.
James, who was once hailed as “different class” by Ally McCoist, has begun this season with a return of two goals and three ‘big chances’ created in six Championship starts, which shows that he has been far more involved at the top end of the pitch than Solomon has been.
23/24 Championship | Dan James |
|---|---|
Appearances | 40 |
Starts | 28 |
Goals | 13 |
Big chances created | 13 |
Assists | 7 |
As you can see in the table above, the Welsh speedster also proved his worth in the second tier during the 2023/24 campaign, with regular quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
The former Manchester United winger has the ability to provide a regular threat as a scorer and can break down opposition defences to create chances for his teammates on a regular basis, which is why he is such a key player for the Whites.
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With this in mind, Solomon must be ruthlessly dropped to the bench after his poor showing last time out in order for James to be unleashed from the start, with Wilfried Gnonto moving over to the left wing with the Welshman on the right.
