Leeds United host Aston Villa this Sunday afternoon in need of a positive result to stop their slide towards the bottom three.

Daniel Farke’s time at Leeds is coming under serious scrutiny at the moment after four losses in the last five games in the Premier League.

Up next for the German is a return to Elland Road. Aston Villa are who awaits for United this Sunday, with both sides needing three points for contrasting reasons.

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Leeds United team news pre-Aston Villa: No injuries confirmed by Daniel Farke

Thankfully, there are no new injuries to report from Farke’s squad. The internationals out on duty have returned to the group unscathed, ready for the weekend.

That means the likes of Dan James, Willy Gnonto, and Sebastiaan Bornauw have benefitted from a further two more weeks of training, and in James’ case match sharpness on duty with Wales.

Here, I predict the lineup Daniel Farke will name as Leeds United host Aston Villa…

Goalkeeper: Lucas Perri

In goal, Lucas Perri is going to keep his place.

There’s a mixed opinion on the Brazilian at the moment, and I can see why. I personally am happy with how he’s been performing, but there’s no getting around the fact he looks shaky at best when he’s got the ball at his feet.

Lucas Perri will keep his place as Leeds United goalkeeper. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn)

He could have done better for Forest’s equaliser as he palmed a cross into trouble, but it’s worth remembering that Leeds only took the lead thanks to a frankly ridiculous save he made in the phase before.

Defence: Jayden Bogle, Joe Rodon, Jaka Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson

The one debatable position in the squad is what to do with Jaka Bijol. The centre-back again drew positive reaction during Slovenia duty, but was playing as part of a back three, rather than on the left side of a back four at Leeds.

Jaka Bijol has a point to prove for Leeds United. (Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith)

It’s obvious that Farke isn’t getting the best from his summer signing. And to move in the right direction, he needs to essentially stop treating Bijol like he’s Pascal Struijk. The Dutchman is Leeds’ best centre-back with the ball at his left foot, so a lot of buildup funnels through him. A straight swap for Bijol hasn’t changed Leeds’ approach, so Bijol has looked awfully clunky on the ball.

I personally would bring Struijk back in if Farke’s to persist with this buildup strategy. But, seen as I’m predicting what Farke will do, and I’m already expecting three other changes further up, I’ll keep Bijol in.

The rest of the back four remains the same: Jayden Bogle, Joe Rodon and Gabriel Gudmundsson staying put.

Midfield: Ao Tanaka, Ethan Ampadu, Anton Stach

My first change to the XI sees Sean Longstaff make way for Ao Tanaka. Leeds’ midfield is somewhat varied, to the point where we need to approach home and away games differently.

Against Villa, there’s scope for Leeds to have more joy on the ball than they have done away from home, so that means getting our best technician back in the side.

Ao Tanaka should come back into the Leeds United XI vs Aston Villa (REUTERS/Scott Heppell)

There’s rational to suggest we could consider dropping Ethan Ampadu too at the moment, given his sloppy tracking of runners in recent games. But, Farke won’t drop his skipper and I don’t think he should.

Anton Stach makes up the trio, and after a fortnight off, we should be looking at a much sharper version of the German after recent fitness struggles.

Attack: Dan James, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Noah Okafor

The most talked-about decision that awaits for Farke is who starts on the right-wing. Brenden Aaronson has been starting without much fear of being dropped at the moment, clearly a favourite of the manager’s due to being a “workhorse”.

However, if Leeds want to get out of this rut of being largely toothless in attack, they need their best attacking players starting, which could well be Dan James. He’s back to match sharpness thanks to his Wales exploits, and there’s absolutely no reason now why he shouldn’t start.

Dan James must be brought into Leeds United’s starting XI to face Aston Villa. (REUTERS/Peter Powell)

Lukas Nmecha’s confident touch and finish against Forest could well see him start too. However, I do think if Leeds want their best side out, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is starting. The German’s strike means he’s overtaken DCL as our top-scoring striker, so there’s food for thought at least that it’s not a clear cut decision.

What is a clear decision is Noah Okafor, Leeds’ best threat, starting on the left.

Full Leeds United predicted XI to face Aston Villa

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