Luke Turner previews tomorrow’s game…
Blues return to league action tomorrow as they travel to Elland Road to face Garry Monk`s Leeds United in their first away game of the season.
As any game in the Championship, it will be a tough one and Leeds will be looking to bounce back from their opening day defeat to QPR where they fell to a 3-0 loss.
Similarly, Gary Rowett`s men will be searching for their first win as well as their first goals of the new season so it should make for a competitive encounter.
Blues have been boosted by the signing of Che Adams from Sheffield United earlier in the week and he looks set to play some part in the match, whether that be from the start or off the bench.
It’s still up in the air as to what midfield pairing or even trio Rowett will play as he has the returning Robert Tesche and Maikel Kieftenbeld to add to the options he already has.
For tomorrow’s game, I wouldn’t be surprised if we did see three in midfield, with Diego Fabbrini perhaps sacrificed to the bench.
This would give Blues an even more solid core to the side but does, however, take away the creativity of the Italian when moving forward. Rowett has a couple of systems to choose from so it’s up to him to get that formula right.
Playing away from home suited us down to the ground last season due to the defensive structure we have and then the way we broke quickly.
This season could be similar so I’m sure Rowett won’t be too displeased to see Leeds having most of the possession.
He knows that we are pretty sound at the back, it’s just a case of taking the opportunities when they come our way at the other end.
Despite their opening day defeat, Leeds still have an array of attacking talent. The likes of Kemar Roofe, Stuart Dallas and ex-Blues loanee Chris Wood are all good enough to cause any side a problem.
If we let them gain a foothold in the game, then Blues could be in trouble. We really need our game changers to step up to the mark and perform for us.
I feel that, if we get the first goal, then Blues are good enough to hold on. We saw it last season in this exact fixture where we took the lead and managed to get a second on the break late on.
The same performance and result as last season will do just right for Gary Rowett and his players.