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Leeds United headed into the World Cup break in the midst of a fight at the bottom end of the Premier League table, having only narrowly avoided relegation last season, with the Yorkshire outfit just two points above the drop zone.
They sat in a particularly concerning position after a defeat to Fulham in October, with just nine points on the board from 11 outings, but they would then return to winning ways against the odds away at Liverpool in the following encounter, as Crysencio Summerville hit an 89th-minute winner at Anfield after Rodrigo Moreno‘s early opener was cancelled out by Mohamed Salah.
The Peacocks then made it back-to-back league triumphs in a dramatic contest at home to AFC Bournemouth, eventually winning 4-3 with Summerville again hitting the decisive goal late on after Moreno, Sam Greenwood and Liam Cooper all got on the scoresheet.
Aiming to make it three wins on the bounce and climb further away from the drop zone prior to the break, Leeds’ last league outing came away at Tottenham Hotspur, and despite leading on three separate occasions through a Summerville goal and a Moreno brace, they finished on the wrong end of a 4-3 beating in London.
Nevertheless, Marsch’s men should still be in high spirits having improved in the English top flight and climbed to 15th spot, and they come into Friday’s game on the back of a 2-1 win over Elche last Thursday, with Joe Gelhardt and Mateusz Klich getting on the scoresheet, and are now tasked with building further momentum ahead of their return to league action.
Nonetheless, thanks to an impressive 2-1 win away at Sevilla in their last top-flight outing in November, La Real do remain third and only trail Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the division, while they also pipped Manchester United to top spot in their Europa League group to skip the playoff round and book a guaranteed place in the round of 16.
Looking to get back up to speed, Alguacil’s side would then take on Rayo Vallecano on Saturday in a friendly, and Alexander Sorloth netted an early goal before Randy Nteka forced a draw with an equaliser.
Now with their sights set on a Copa del Rey second-round contest away at fifth-tier Coria next week and a return to league action prior to the turn of the year, La Real will look to score an impressive victory in Yorkshire on Friday.
Leeds United duo Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams could both feature after returning from the World Cup with the USA following a round-of-16 defeat, as could defender Rasmus Kristensen after Denmark’s exit from the competition.
Young forward Joe Gelhardt will hope to strengthen his claim for a place in the starting XI for the return to the Premier League with another positive display after hitting the net against Elche, while Crysencio Summerville headed into the break in fine form, having found the net in each of the last four top-flight matches.
First-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier was ruled out of the Elche contest with glandular fever, and he is unlikely to be rushed back, with Joel Robles again set to start between the sticks on Friday.
Real Sociedad fielded different teams for the two halves of their match against Rayo Vallecano, with the majority of their key players getting 45 minutes, and we could see Alguacil revert to a full-strength starting XI on Friday, although attackers Mikel Oyarzabal, Ander Barrenetxea and Umar Sadiq remain out of action through injury.
Alexander Sorloth will again lead the line after hitting the net last week, with the RB Leipzig loanee boasting eight competitive goals in all competitions so far this season, while Mohamed-Ali Cho will likely offer further attacking support.
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Mikel Merino, Asier Illarramendi, David Silva and Brais Mendez could all feature in a quality-packed midfield, while the likes of Jon Pacheco, Robin Le Normand and Igor Zubeldia are fighting for regular minutes in the middle of the defence.
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Robles; Kristensen, Koch, Cooper, Forshaw; Roca, Adams; Aaronson, Rodrigo, Summerville; Gelhardt
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Rico; Mendez, Illaramendi, Merino; Silva; Cho, Sorloth