On Tuesday night, Leeds United head to South Wales to face Swansea City as they look to continue their electric form in the Championship. After beating Rotherham 3-0 on Saturday, the Whites have now won six games on the bounce – the longest winning streak of any side in the division.
Daniel Farke‘s men have been watertight in that period too, conceding just one goal and keeping three consecutive clean sheets. It’s a run that leaves them only a point behind Southampton in the automatic promotion race, although they have played a game more.
Tuesday’s opponents Swansea, by contrast, are down in 16th in the table, just seven points above the bottom three. Leeds won the reverse fixture 3-1 despite falling behind inside the first minute and enter the game as overwhelming favourites, though Swansea did at least end a run of three straight defeats by winning 1-0 at promotion-chasing Hull last time out.
Speaking ahead of the game, Farke revealed that defender Pascal Struijk may not be back available until after the March international break, with Stuart Dallas and back-up goalkeeper Karl Darlow still on the sidelines too.
That, however, isn’t the only bad news the German has to deal with as he looks to keep the pressure on Southampton in the battle to return to the Premier League.
Byram joins Leeds injury list before Swansea
As reported by The Athletic’s Phil Hay, Sam Byram is out against Swansea after picking up a muscle problem against Rotherham. The full-back is undergoing checks in order to determine the severity of the injury.
Elsewhere, there’s more positive news on former Swansea man Dan James, who’s back in training and in contention to play, but Jamie Shackleton misses out for personal reasons after overcoming an illness.
“Outstanding” Byram has been key for Leeds
Byram, who joined Leeds on a free transfer last summer after leaving Norwich, has played 25 Championship games for the club this season, starting 18 of those and logging 1,424 minutes overall.
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The Whites decided to send the young whiz on loan at the start of the season.
While he hasn’t started in the league since the 1-0 defeat to West Brom just before the new year, he’s appeared in each of the last seven and made the line-up for both of the FA Cup ties against Plymouth. Farke has been thrilled by the performances of a player he’d previously coached at Carrow Road. He said earlier this season:
“I was 100 per cent sure what he would offer when we signed him. He must be one of the best free transfers in the history of Leeds United. He’s playing fantastic, an outstanding season so far.”
|
Rank |
Championship player |
Club |
xG +/- p90 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Dan James |
Leeds United |
+1.21 |
|
2 |
Joe Rodon |
Leeds United |
+1.18 |
|
3 |
Glen Kamara |
Leeds United |
+1.16 |
|
4 |
Wilfried Ndidi |
Leicester City |
+1.12 |
|
5 |
Crysencio Summerville |
Leeds United |
+1.12 |
|
6 |
Sam Byram |
Leeds United |
+1.05 |
As you can see in the table above, Leeds average a positive xG differential of 1.05 per 90 minutes with Byram on the pitch, which statistically makes him one of the most impactful players in the league, alongside a number of his teammates. With the Englishman out on Tuesday and for an indefinite period of time, Junior Firpo is likely to keep his place at left back.