Smyth claims Gracia could deploy two-striker formation at Leeds

Graham Smyth has insisted that Javi Gracia’s preferred style of play has shades of what Jesse Marsch tried to implement at Leeds United.

The Lowdown: Gracia must turn things around quickly

Leeds fans will be hopeful, nervous and excited about what is to come from Gracia as he’s not managed in England since 2019 with Watford, so he has spent some time out of the very top of the managerial game.

However, he did guide Watford to an FA Cup final during his time at Vicarage Road, and having a fresh voice in the dressing room will likely be exactly what this squad needs at the moment.

Gracia is said to prefer playing with two strikers, something that may well be alien to a Leeds side that only deployed one up top under Jesse Marsch, although Smyth believes a lot of the Spaniard’s methods will be similar to their former boss.

The Latest: Not wholesale changes from Gracia

Smyth has claimed on the Inside Elland Road podcast that Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter will likely start together in either a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 formation initially under Gracia.

He said: “It’ll be nice to know what formation he’s thinking of if he’s willing to divulge, because he’s often gone with a front two in a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2. So that would be Bamford and Rutter, one would imagine. Unless he’s seen something in one of the wide players or Aaronson who could play as a second striker with Rodrigo out.”

However, Gracia may not be keen to change a lot of things very quickly so therefore, the wingers and wide players at Leeds may be asked to tuck in narrowly and ensure they are a compact side to beat and get past.

Smyth added: “I’m fascinated to see what he goes with, we know he’s tucked his wingers in and played quite narrow at times. We know that he’s pressed from the front, we know that he’s been keen to be defensively solid and have a solid and compact base and force teams out wide. There are shades of Jesse Marsch in there somewhere in terms of the narrowness.”

The Verdict: Leeds have no time to waste

With just 15 games left of the season, Gracia will know that he needs to put his stamp on this expensively assembled squad very quickly or risk seeing the season flash before his eyes with the Whites hurtling towards the Championship as things stand.

However, the Spanish coach must be careful to not overdo it on the training ground as it could just hinder them if they feel overloaded with new information and find it difficult to put it all into practice immediately.

1 of 10

Leeds fans, do you remember how much Raphinha's move to Barcelona was worth?

The fact that Gracia could seemingly opt for a two-striker formation may not be a surprise given that Leeds failed to register a single effort on target in their last outing against Everton so they need a bigger threat in the final third.