Leeds United's Weston McKennie
Phil Hay believes Javi Gracia will deploy a three-man Leeds United midfield again this weekend including Weston Mckennie, Marc Roca and Tyler Adams.
The Lowdown: Gracia sticking with what he knows
Gracia has been in charge for two games now which has resulted in one Premier League win and a defeat in the FA Cup despite only allowing three shots on target in the latter, which will still hand him positives moving forward.
In the two games, Gracia has altered his formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 most recently but it’s the former one which may be what the Spaniard sticks with moving forward.
This could well be because it’s the best way to afford Leeds a solid base but also gets forward-thinking midfielders into the side in the form of Adams, McKennie and Roca.
The Latest: Leeds to stick with a three-man midfield
Hay has admitted on The Phil Hay Show that he would be surprised if Gracia doesn’t start all three of Roca, Adams and McKennie for their trip away to Champions League outfit Chelsea.
He said: (48:30) “Particularly with Adams, I never think of him as a string-puller, I think of him somebody who disrupts, sticks a foot in and tries to give you a platform to play off and then other players play around him.
“McKennie probably falls into more slightly in the middle between him and Roca when it comes to ability on the ball, but McKennie also has been traditionally more box-to-box and can be an attacking asset and was an attacking asset I think on Tuesday night against Fulham.
“So, I’d be surprised if those three aren’t in again and if they are then you have to be almost going for a 4-2-3-1 because McKennie isn’t going to play up to, he’s going to be centrally most likely, but he’s not going to play up top with a Rutter or a Bamford.”
The Verdict: Midfield battle will be key
If Leeds are able to annoy, frustrate and ultimately dominate Chelsea’s midfield physically and technically, then they could well force the Stamford Bridge faithful to turn on their players and potentially, help the Whites pick up three points.
While going away to Chelsea would normally be a daunting task, the fact that Leeds have clearly tightened up defensively under Gracia having only given up five shots on target in two games against Southampton and Fulham respectively will have them confident of causing an upset.
It would indeed be an upset on paper, however, Chelsea are certainly misfiring under Graham Potter and the Blues losing a second home game in a row to a relegation struggler could be the final nail in his coffin.
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