Leeds United were left frustrated last time out in the Championship as they travelled away from West Yorkshire and fell to a 1-0 defeat to Millwall at The Den.
A first-half goal from Japhet Tanganga was enough to secure all three points for the home side, who were rarely threatened by dangerous attacks from the visitors.
Daniel Farke will now be keen for an improved display, particularly in the attacking third of the pitch, when his side takes to the field against QPR at Elland Road this evening.
One player who could be in danger of missing out on the starting XI after his performance against Millwall on Wednesday night is centre-forward Joel Piroe.
Why Joel Piroe could be dropped
The Dutch forward had a night to forget at The Den and Football FanCast published an article explaining why he was even worse than Brenden Aaronson on the night, and why Farke should ditch him from the line-up.
Piroe played the full 90 minutes of the game and only won one duel, losing three of his four in total, whilst he only managed one shot on target and did not create a ‘big chance’ for his teammates.
The big problem for Farke with the former Swansea City star is his lack of mobility. He struggles to get around the pitch to make runs in behind consistently, to press the opposition effectively, and to win duels against defenders – as shown by his statistics on Wednesday.
However, Piroe has scored five goals and provided two assists in five league starts this season, which shows that there is still value in having him on the pitch.
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With this in mind, upon reflection after the reaction to Wednesday’s game, there could be another way for Farke to solve the issue, instead of dropping him, and that could be to move Wilfried Gnonto into a new role.
A new role for Wilfried Gnonto
The Italian forward, who was hailed as “direct” by Jermaine Beckford, has made all 15 of his appearances in all competitions this season on either the left or the right flank, either cutting inside from the left or going down the line on the right wing.
What Farke could do to solve the issues around Piroe’s lack of mobility could be to deploy Gnonto in the number ten position, with Aaronson then shifting across to the left.
That would, firstly, allow Aaronson to take the ball in facing across the pitch instead of having to deal with stronger defenders coming through the back of him, and, secondly, it would allow Gnonto to make runs beyond Piroe.
Starts
33
xG
7.98
Goals
10
Big chances missed
6
Assists
7
As you can see in the table above, the Italian youngster has been ruthless in front of goal at Championship level since the start of last season, outperforming his xG.
This suggests that he could make the most of the opportunities that could fall to him by running beyond Piroe to make runs in behind the defence.
This could then allow the Dutch forward to focus on being in the right positions to finish inside of the box, rather than worrying about constantly stretching the defence and dueling with defenders, which could get the best out of both players, whilst also helping Aaronson.
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