Elland Road awaits on a Friday night that will surely be fuelled by passion as the Whites take on fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest under the lights.
Daniel Farke addressed the press ahead of the upcoming contest and made sure to highlight how important home advantage could be to the chances of the whites’ success on the night. Farke stated that: “We need even more for our supporters to make a special day and a special atmosphere on Friday evening, and if they are capable and my lads on the pitch deliver then we definitely have a chance”. Leeds supporters clearly need little encouragement however, as even when 4-0 down on Saturday against Arsenal, Elland Road was a pit of noise as Whites’ fans were feverpitch in their rebellious spirit as Arsenal sprayed the ball around the Elland Road pitch, which felt more like a swimming pool in the latter stages.
Farke was also not shy to praise Friday’s opposition, hailing Forest manager Sean Dyche as having a proven record on Premier League level”. He then went on to claim the turnaround he has performed at Nottingham Forest, proclaiming that “He has shown several times what he is capable of. During this season he gave lots of stability back to Nottingham, who won many points in recent weeks”.
The most interesting part of the press-conference for the Leeds fanbase, may well be Farke’s latest injury update, in which he discussed that Jaka Bijol and James Justin are both back in team training, with Justin’s injury being diagnosed as “just a bruise and not a broken toe. He’s also available for the weekend, definitely, definitely good news”. It was also mentioned that “Daniel James is making good progress, very good news”. However, there is some bad news that Farke broke pre-match as: “Anton Stach is struggling with some hip problems after the last game day and it looks that he’s likely to miss the game on Friday and also the Chelsea game”. It was also mentioned that forward Lukas Nmecha is not quite in team training as of yet.
In terms of the game itself, it is a contest that feels like a huge opportunity for Leeds to drag themselves that bit further away from the chasing pack that are starting to make haste below them, and with West Ham going to Burnley on Saturday, the Whites could potentially use the result as a hoist to ensure that they are still 6-points clear of the Hammers even if they picked up a victory on the road.
As Farke eluded to though, if Elland Road can work its magic and produce another memorable night and cauldron-like atmosphere; it is more than possible that the hosts get the job done under the lights.