Leeds United

Leeds United and 5 things needed against Bolton on Sunday

Leeds United face their opening game of the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship season on Sunday, the Whites crossing the Pennines and heading into Lancashire.

First up for United is a trip to the Macron Stadium to face newly promoted side Bolton Wanderers, a side who came up from League One on the back of a mean defence that only allowed 36 goals across all 46 games.

Thomas Christiansen’s side will want to build on the solid foundation left him by Garry Monk and Pep Clotet, foundations that led to a 7th place finish. The Whites were in the play-off picture for 142 days/26 games, only a late dip of form seeing them drop out of the play-off race.

With the game just a day away, here’s five things that Leeds United need to do on Sunday against Bolton.

Leeds fans. What do you think? Will Kemar Roofe start to pick up the goals next season?

Five things Leeds need to do against Bolton Wanderers

1. Take the game to the home side: There’s no point letting Bolton settle into any kind of rhythm at home in their first game of the season. Leeds need to deploy the attacking skill that they have at their disposal and really go at the home side. The Whites have last season’s league-leading scorer in Chris Wood, but behind him they have a glittering array of talent who really could punish the Trotters – they need them to do so.

2. Use the #10 and use him wisely: Leeds United were a side crying out for a natural playmaker in the #10 slot behind Chris Wood. Many had been tried, such as Brazilian Adryan and home-grown Alex Mowatt, but they were dabbling experiments. When United brought in Spaniard Pablo Hernández they had their #10 answer. Last season his range of passing created problems for sides – leading to six goals and eight assists. Now they have also brought in Samu Saiz, a player coming off a 12-goal/eight assist season of his one. One/Both need to get game time against Bolton.

3. Two wide men: In the wide positions Leeds United really do have options, and welcome ones too. Looking back a couple of seasons and at what the Whites had at their disposal then was…well…cringe-worthy. Now, with the way that purchases have been made this season, there are genuine options for Thomas Christiansen to deploy. Whilst he is likely to set up with Kemar Roofe down the left and Ezgjan Alioski down the right, there is cover on the bench in the shape of Stuart Dallas and Hadi Sako. There’s a goal threat in all four players, plus in Roofe, Sacko and Alioski there is also the threat of extreme pace.

4. Start the season well: Whilst Leeds fans will talk about time needed to gel the new side better, the same applies to Bolton who have brought in seven players on free transfers. Gelling or not, Leeds cannot afford to start this campaign as a repeat of the last one. Last season United opened up their campaign with an abject 3-0 loss away at QPR – a game where the Whites weren’t even at the races. That kicked in a bad opening half-a-dozen games with four losses and only four points gained. A good start will help build towards the following Saturday and the game against Preston North End at Elland Road.

5. Make it solid at the back: Pontus Jansson is missing for the Bolton game, let the panic alarms go off and ring loud. That presents Thomas Christiansen with a selection problem in his first game, fielding what will likely be a non-standard back four. Choices are that he either slides Luke Ayling over from right back, bringing in Vurnon Anita to fill the gap. What he could also do is bring in Liam Cooper and partner him with Everton loanee Matthew Pennington. Whatever option the manager chooses, the centre of defence needs to be as tight as a duck’s backside in a waterfall – and I’ve never seen a duck sinking.

Leeds fans, let us know what you think of Leeds’ transfer dealings with this quartet.

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