Leeds - Barnsley ... Preview

Coming off the back of a frustrating but not disastrous result against Norwich on Saturday and coming before a tricky away trip away to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium, Leeds face Barnsley in a local derby at Elland Road on Tuesday evening. This group of three games had sent shivers down my spine earlier in the season when I saw we'd play both Norwich and Swansea within seven days. Barnsley won't be a stroll in the park either. Despite this, it'll be the one of the three that we'd be expected to take three points out of and one we need to take three points out of.

The middle of this crucial week has left us only two points clear of 7th in 6th place with Leicester making a storming charge towards us after an unbelievable influx of talent in the January window that included the loan signing of Yakubu from Everton on a reported £45,000 a week. We're three points adrift of third as well but with Forest having a game in hand it makes it even more vital to keep in touch with a win. If we can remain in the pack while we possibly bring in one or two on loan then we'll be nicely placed for the run in. 

The pre-match debate will again be surrounding which formation Simon chooses and whether he includes free-scoring Davide Somma in his starting lineup. After Saturday's performance both defensively and offensively I don't believe we're currently really any stronger in the 4-5-1 with the 4-4-2 mainly failing to impress in the early part of the season. This was of course during a period where Snoddy wasn't on form or at full fitness, or indeed when we had the presence of O'Brien for example. 

From what I've seen recently of the 4-4-2 we don't seem to lack any creativity for certain, and nor are we noticeably more solid with the added midfielder in the side. One thing that's for certain is that then when we do play 4-4-2 Becchio tends to play deeper, reverting to his "Beckford's lackey" role where he tends to sit further back the pitch and do the running for the second striker. We've seen this season Luciano thrives as the lone man, better placed for the type of goal he scores - the tap-ins, the headers and the sliding in at the back post finishes we've come to expect from him. 

On Saturday however, Becchio for the most part didn't seem to play any deeper when Somma was brought into the fray. He was relatively close to Davide with the knockdown header for his goal, and didn't seem to become embroiled in link-up play and running as often as we first chased the game and then went onto try and win it. For the 4-4-2 to work to its best, Luciano needs to stay higher up the pitch more often,  although not refraining completely from his excellent all round game that has endeared him so much to us. Somma is more than capable of hold-up play and intelligent interaction with the midfield when needed - much more so than we ever saw from Beckford who was truly an off the shoulder striker. Davide has more to his all round game. The only thing I think he hasn't really got in the locker is when the high ball is played to his head. He can win the header but doesn't do so consistently enough. Despite this he can win high balls very effectively if played lower than head high, or by backing in and trapping with his feet or chest. He's able to keep the ball effectively and involve the midfield when necessary as well as link up well with Becchio. It's a myth he can't do these things, he just can't do all of them as often and as well as Becchio can - which is why he hasn't yet set the world alight when upfront alone.

The other part of our play that needs to occur for the 4-4-2 to work to its potential is getting one of the centre midfielders to sit deeper whilst the other breaks forward. I've not seen this discipline all that often thus far, and in the earlier parts of the season, much of our defensive issue came from the centre midfielders being caught too high up the pitch, allowing a counter attack with players running straight at our back line unchallenged. Johnson has excelled in his deeper role, and Howson in his more advanced one, so it'd make sense that this is what we'd see with the four in midfield. The above points combined, would yield us a more successful 4-4-2 than we have seen in the past this season. One thing is for sure, the two strikers have no issue playing together.

Judging by this, you can probably see that I'd like to see us revert to a 4-4-2 at home for this game at least. It is getting harder and harder for Grayson to justify leaving Somma out when we seem to concede and score in fair amounts in either formation. I feel that Kilkenny doesn't add as much as Somma adds, even taking the change in setup into account. Bringing in Michael Johnson in place of Kilkenny however, which we could well see in the coming weeks, would definately change that situation, though.

Also for this game we need to see the fullbacks running the lines more like they did against Coventry and Bristol City than what I saw against Norwich. I don't know whether it was on Grayson's say so, but Lichaj and McCartney forayed forward much less than I've seen of our fullbacks in the past few weeks. Snodgrass could be seen multiple times waving Lichaj forward to allow him a chance by taking a defender away on the overlap and Gradel suffered for it on the opposite flank as well. They were left with too much expected of them when the ball arrived at their feet and met with two defenders, they didn't have as much opportunity to be a danger - although they were still a major threat for us. Norwich's setup and defending had a lot to do it, so against a less able side on paper, we should be more hopeful of seeing direct success from the wingers again tomorrow night.

Onto Barnsley then. Everyone remembers the horrific result at Oakwell and for this reason we should all remain wary of them, despite their league position. Adam Hammill moving on to Blackpool has left them without their major threat from the past season   or so. He caused massive issues for us there and was truly a player to be feared. Since letting him go they've replaced him by signing Jacob Mellis on loan from Chelsea. A creative midfielder who's slotted in nicely, as well as scoring two in three appearances. Frank Nouble has also come in since we've last met on loan from West Ham. He may well be utilised as a winger in a front three, as has been fielded since he's arrived by Mark Robins and his pace may worry us a little.

Barnsley have lost their last three on the road and conceded 11 - the most of any side away from home since the turn of the year, although I feel we won't need any reassurance goals wise as we're the league's top scorers at this moment. They've also taken only one point from nine away games against current top half sides.

I won't go over our form again its old news, but everyone will be expecting us to capitalise, at the very least to give us breathing space for the worst eventuality away at Swansea on Saturday.All I will say is that they need to keep concentration much better than they did against Norwich. The general defensive display was OK really, lapses cost us, as per. This has unfortunately been the story of the season defensively. Simple things like looking for the second ball after a headed clearance and the basics such as marking men are the things that need to be looked at.

Prediction: Leeds 3-1 Barnsley

Not one to blow my own trumpet but I got it spot on (unfortunately) last time out vs Norwich, so hopefully this one will come out correct as well.

Team News

Leeds

Watt should at last return after a four week absence, after previously being expected to return from a hamstring injury last Saturday.

Lichaj will continue in place of the injured Connolly.

Barnsley

Midfielder Hugo Colace misses out after being sidelined for four weeks.

Former Birmingham striker Garry O'Connor, who scored against us at Oakwell, could be pushing for a recall as could fellow forward Andy Gray. Midfielder Goran Lovre could also return to the mix for them. 

Grayson

On the subject of seeking vengance for the Oakwell embarassment:

"You don't get any extra points for 'revenge.'

"We were very disappointed after that game. The players were disappointed, the staff were disappointed, and most of all we were disappointed for the 7,000 fans we took there.

"We were in control for 40-odd minutes that night, then they scored and we went to pieces. It was one of those nights where everything went wrong.

"We have a different approach now and I would think if you asked any of the players if they are thinking about 'revenge' they would say no. All players think about is another chance to win.

"But if any of the players who played that night want to use the memory as motivation then that's how it is.

"It doesn't matter who we play against, we always talk about the previous game whether we've won or lost and use it in some way, but it's not about revenge as people like to suggest.

"We'll have the same question I'm sure in a couple of weeks when we go to Preston."

On our changed fortunes since the September meeting:

"The real motivation is to get a win to keep the pressure on and maintain our place in the league," 

"They are a decent team. I know Robbo well and they will be organised and will have plenty of fire in their bellies.

"But I think we've learnt a lot since that game at Oakwell.

"If we can score a few goals on Tuesday then happy days because it will be good for our goal difference, but I'd be equally happy if we could grind out a 1-0 win to keep going."

Howson

Also on the subject of seeking revenge: 

"We can't change that. Some people might saw we owe them one, but it's just another chance to get three points. That's how we're looking at it." 

"Going into this final stretch anything can happen. You saw Forest lose at Scunthorpe last week so there's a long way to go. 

"We want to stay in and around it. We'll be looking for a three points against Barnsley."