news-engine

Two wins away from home in the league and cup against Nottingham Forest, and a 1-1 draw against an impressive Brentford side have left Leeds in a very comfortable position and unbeaten in their last eight games, including pre-season, before their trip down to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday. Both sides have started the season well, particularly defensively, with Daniel Farke's side conceding one goal in their first three games, while Brighton already have two 4-0 wins. Brighton looked impenetrable until their last runout, in which they lost 4-3 to Chelsea and were 3-0 down in just 32 minutes. The Whites' ins and outs: A relatively quiet deadline for the Whites, compared to some other teams, saw the additions of two Frenchmen and one departure; Melvin Bard from Nice and Jean-Matteo Bahoya on loan from Frankfurt, while Wilfried Gnonto, who was yet to make a competitive appearance this season, has left for Italian side Fiorentina. The two new signings could play their first minutes for the club as neither are injured and both are ready to play. Another new addition, Nico Elvedi, could be in line to get his first Premier League start after Joe Rodon's injury against Brentford will see him out of action for up to 10 weeks. Other new faces like James Trafford and Tarik Muharemovic have started very promisingly, with two clean sheets to their name already, while Harry Wilson hasn't had the brightest of starts, but came on at half-time for Brendan Aaronson against Brentford and will be pushing for a starting spot. Daniel Farke's tinkering tactics: The German in all three games so far, and all eight including pre-season, has started the match in a 3-2-4-1 formation, but for the first time this season, he switched to a back four after going into half-time 1-0 down at home to Keith Andrews' side. This change was fundamental in the comeback, as it saw Farke's side have five times the amount of shots and almost 20% more possession than in the first 45. So could we see Farke tinkering again if things are going south against the south-coast side? Changing around tactics and formation isn't something new to the German, as last season after four losses in a row (eight in the opening 14 games), he changed from a back four to his current back three formation, where he saw his side only lose a further five out of the remaining 28 games he used it in all season. Leeds' Brighton woes: Before their 1-0 win at home on the penultimate day of the season in May, Leeds had failed to win any of their previous seven games against Brighton, losing three out of the last four matchups at the Amex. One game that will stick in Leeds fans' minds is the 1-1 draw in the 2021/22 season, where they played yet again on the penultimate day of the season and Pascal Struijk netted in the 92nd minute to keep their chance of survival alive, which was proven vital as they stayed up on the last day of the season with a 2-1 win away to Brentford. However, former Seagulls striker Danny Welbeck, who had scored in three of those games, has now departed for Chelsea, so could Leeds have a chance to earn a second consecutive win against Brighton?