Daniel Farke's Leeds United are back in action in the Championship once again as they travel away from home to take on Swansea this evening.
The Whites are heading into this match off the back of a 3-0 win over Rotherham at Elland Road in the league on Saturday, thanks to two goals from Crysencio Summerville after an opener from Patrick Bamford.
Ahead of this clash in Wales, the German head coach has revealed that Daniel James is back in training and available to face his former club after a spell on the sidelines.
The rapid forward should be made to wait to start, however, as Wilfried Gnonto has been in impressive form in recent matches and deserves to keep his place.
In fact, Farke could supercharge the Italy international by making a change further back in the form of Connor Roberts being brought in for his full debut at right-back ahead of Archie Gray.
Connor Roberts' Championship pedigree
The Welsh defender joined the club on loan from Premier League side Burnley on deadline day and made his first appearance for the club as a substitute against Rotherham.
He should now be unleashed from the start for the first time as his Championship form for the Clarets last season suggests that the gem has the quality to form an exciting partnership with Gnonto on the right flank.
|
Championship |
Connor Roberts - 22/23 |
Archie Gray - 23/24 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
43 |
29 |
|
Goals |
Four |
Zero |
|
Assists |
Six |
One |
|
Pass accuracy |
88% |
85% |
|
Duel success rate |
56% |
51% |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old dynamo provided an attacking threat from right-back with an eye-catching ten goal contributions in 43 outings.
He averaged a goal or an assist every 4.3 games, compared to Gray's one every 29 matches this season, and this suggests that Roberts is a dangerous option who opposition defences will be aware of.
Why Roberts could supercharge Gnonto
Gnonto having a naturally attack-minded full-back on his side could create more opportunities for him to drive into the middle of the park where he likes to do his damage.
His goal against Bristol City came from a movement inside from the right flank to take the ball on and finish in the middle of the goal, which was also the case against Plymouth Argyle.
The 20-year-old also moved into a central position to feed Summerville with a pass into the box, which resulted in the Dutch winger being brought down for a penalty against Rotherham.
Gnonto, who has scored two goals in his last three games, could utilise the width provided by the £14k-per-week loanee to pull inside as the opposition left-back may be distracted by the overlapping run, particularly if his winger does not track back effectively.
Roberts, who was once described as a "top quality" Championship full-back by journalist Will Lancaster, has a proven track record, as shown by statistics last season, in the final third from a full-back position and could be the perfect player to create the space the forward needs to drift inside.
This could, therefore, provide the former Zurich star with more chances to move infield, with or without the ball, to add to his goal tally and, hopefully, produce more assists for his teammates.