Leeds United are back in action in the Championship this afternoon as they travel away from Yorkshire to take on Coventry City at the CBS Arena.
The Whites remained in the top two with a 3-1 win over Hull City on Easter Monday, as goals from Sam Byram, Crysencio Summerville, and Dan James secured all three points at Elland Road.
They are one point ahead of Leicester City, who have one game in hand, and are one point behind Ipswich Town, who take on rivals Norwich City in the early kick-off today.
Daniel Farke's side are hunting for automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, and a win against Coventry – who are seventh in the division – would be another step in the right direction.
Despite the 3-1 win on Monday, Leeds were not entirely convincing in their performance against the Tigers and the German head coach could make changes to his starting XI as a result of that.
One player who should be unleashed from the start, if he passes a late fitness test, is Bulgaria international Ilia Gruev, who the boss revealed has a chance of returning from an ankle injury this weekend.
The player Ilia Gruev could replace
Farke could brutally drop teenage sensation Archie Gray down to the bench to make room for the former Werder Bremen star to start in midfield.
The 18-year-old whiz, who has been shortlisted for the Championship Young Player of the Year award alongside Jonathan Rowe and Jordan James, started in his favoured midfield position against Hull but failed to showcase the best of his abilities.
Gray, who has spent the majority of the season impressing at right-back, played next to Glen Kamara and did not impose himself on the match, in or out of possession.
Minutes played
90
Duels won
4/8
Pass accuracy
83%
Key passes
0
Possession lost
10x
Long ball accuracy
33.3%
As you can see in the table above, the England U21 international was not at his best on the ball against the Tigers, with some wasteful passing in midfield.
Gray ranks within the top 32% of Championship full-backs for progressive passes per 90 this season with 4.06. However, he only made three against Hull in 90 minutes, which shows that he was not very forward-thinking with his passing as well as being inefficient.
That contributed to the away side being able to dominate for spells in the game, as Liam Rosenior's side ended the match with 56% possession at Elland Road.
Leeds may have had more control of the game if they had Gruev available to play next to Kamara, as he has the quality on the ball to be a metronomic presence in the middle of the park for Farke.
Why Ilia Gruev should start
The 23-year-old maestro has been a terrific performer for the club in 2024, having broken into the starting XI on a regular basis thanks to Ethan Ampadu dropping back into centre-back to cover for Pascal Struijk's continued absence.
Gruev, who has started 14 of his 23 appearances in the second tier, is a central midfielder who provides fantastic reliability and progression with his passing, whilst also being an above average defensive presence for his position.
The £5m signing currently ranks within the top 13% of Championship midfielders for tackles won (2.71) per 90, and the top 23% for interceptions (1.32) per 90 this season.
This shows that he is among the best in the division when it comes to winning the ball back for his side through tackles and interceptions per game.
Gruev also brings quality in possession with a phenomenal pass accuracy of 91.2% in the league, which places him within the top 2% of his positional peers, and this shows that the talented gem rarely gives the ball away in midfield.
The metronomic star, who was described as a "revelation" by analyst Ben Mattinson, ranks within the top 39% for progressive passes per 90 with 4.80 – 0.74 per 90 than Gray and 1.80 more than the English gem managed against Hull.
Therefore, not only would the former Bundesliga ace provide more reliability in possession but he would also provide more incision with progressive, forward, passing to move the team up the pitch to create opportunities for his teammates.
This is why Farke should brutally drop Gray to the bench, or to right-back if Sam Byram needs to be rested, to make space for Gruev to return, if he is fit enough to start.
Who Ilia Gruev should start next to
Glen Kamara should occupy the other position in midfield as the Finland international has been a super reliable performer for Farke since his move from Rangers last summer.
Like Gruev, the former Arsenal academy graduate is fantastic on the ball and is a player who the opposition struggle to dispossess in the Championship.
The 28-year-old star ranks within the top 2% of midfielders in the division with a pass success rate of 92.6% for Leeds this season, which is not far away from Flynn Downes' league-leading 93.8% in that position.
Kamara also ranks within the top 7% of his positional peers for progressive passes (7.00) per 90. This shows that he is incredibly forward-thinking and progressive in possession, which helps the Whites to build attacks and break down stubborn defences.
The Finnish ace holds his own defensively, off the ball, with a duel success rate of 59%, including a 61% success rate in ground battles, which shows that opposition players find it hard to get the better of him in physical contests.
He is, therefore, a reliable performer at both ends of the pitch for Leeds as the former Rangers star is efficient with both his defensive and offensive contributions, as shown by his duel success rate and fantastic passing efficiency.
This is why Kamara and Gruev work so well as a pairing for the Whites as they both have the quality to retain possession at an exceptional rate, whilst also being progressive passers who do their defensive duties, and that is why Farke must unleash them both against Coventry.