First team

The Brentford result must be forgotten quickly – who will start against Reading?

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A disappointing performance and result on Saturday, but being at Elland Road I really thought we were going to get another win. But what will be will be and we need to move on quickly and start picking up wins. Boss Neil Redfearn went with two strikers on Saturday, and it didn’t really pay off. We didn’t create enough opportunities, and I do think that’s because we didn’t have enough men in midfield to keep possession of the ball. I’m hoping we switch back to the 4-2-3-1 formation, but who will Redders pick for the game?

Goalkeeper

Silvestri

Marco Silvestri

Silvestri was back to his best on Saturday, making a string of saves to keep us in the game and without him it could have been a much heavier defeat. He’s come in for a lot of criticism lately, me included, and he certainly proved that he can be a top ‘keeper at this level.

Onto what I presume will be a back four…

Right-back

SCOTT WOOTTON CELEBRATES SCORING LEEDS FIRST GOAL

Scott Wootton

Solid as of late, I fully expect Wootton to continue in the right-back slot. Gaetano Berardi is another option but I’m pretty sure we’d all agree on Wootton for this position, he’s certainly a lot better defensively and versatile in terms of slotting into a central position if needed. Not a bad recovery for a player who was out of favour and close to being sold to Rotherham just last month.

Onto the two central defenders…

Right centre-back

Bamba

Sol Bamba

The new signing has been decent since signing on loan from Palermo. A Cellino signing that actually knows this division. Despite Bellusci being available after suspension I’m hoping Bamba keeps his place in the side. I don’t think there’s any question as to who Bamba’s central partner will be…

Left centre-back

Cooper k

Liam Cooper

Captain fantastic. He’s been my player of the season just ahead of Lewis Cook. For a guy who was bought from League 2 he’s been fantastic. As with Bamba, I can’t see Bellusci coming in to replace Cooper.

The final defender and a pretty obvious choice…

Left-back

taylor

Charlie Taylor

Another solid performance from Taylor on Saturday, it’s great to see him performing so well. It’s nice to say that we don’t miss Warnock, despite how well he’d performed early on in the season. Taylor could easily be our first choice left-back for the next ten years.

Onto the two central midfielders…

Right central-midfield

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Lewis Cook

A no brainer, really. This guy has some serious potential and I really hope he reaches it with Leeds. Despite the constant changing of players alongside him, he’s continued to perform consistently well despite being just 18 years of age.

Alongside Cook…

Left central-midfield

LUKE MURPHY CELEBRATES SCORING LEEDS WINNER IN INJURY TIME

Luke Murphy

Something of a resurgence from the £1 million man. He didn’t have the best of games against Brentford but the same can be said for a lot of the players. I’d expect Redfearn to pick him ahead of Sloth or Bianchi – Sloth just doesn’t seem to get a look in whilst Bianchi just isn’t good enough for this level of football.

Onto the attacking trio…

Right-wing

Byram

Sam Byram

The only player really capable of playing in that wide right role for us. He’s certainly not reached the heights of the 12/13 campaign but there’s no other player I’d rather see played there tomorrow night. He looks lively and with Cook and Murphy playing him in he should be able to get some joy against the Reading defence.

On the left…

Left-wing

mowatt

Alex Mowatt

Rodolph Austin started the game on the left and wasn’t as effective as he is when he’s played centrally. He did “a job” for the team so that we could play with two strikers but the system certainly didn’t work. Despite not also being a winger, Alex Mowatt would be more suited. He’s naturally left-footed and would come in field a lot allowing Charlie Taylor to advance forward. Adryan is another option, being a natural lefty. He’d also come in field and would give us more flair than Mowatt, but I firmly believe Redders will go with the academy graduate.

And in the free role…

Central attacking-midfield

austin

Rodolph Austin

Again, Adryan is an option but given the recent form Austin has found he’s certainly got to be the main man for the attacking midfield position. His decision making is his main downfall, he often opts to shoot even when there’s a better option in terms of a pass or dribble.

Finally the lone striker…

Striker

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Steve Morison

The only player who can really play as a lone striker, there’s always the option of Billy Sharp or Mirco Antenucci but neither really have the physicality to hold the ball up as well as Morison can. All the Welshman needs to do is start scoring. We really need to start scoring.

Leave your comments below, do you agree that this is the line-up Redfearn will choose? Let us know.

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