This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
QPR travel to Elland Road this Saturday to take on Leeds in what could be an enticing top-eight clash.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side sit 3rd in the Championship with seven wins from 14 games, whereas Mark Warburton’s men have won the same amount of matches but sit 8th having suffered two more defeats than Leeds – the R’s backline is the second-worst in the division, as only bottom-placed Barnsley have conceded more goals.
A win for the Londoners would take them above Leeds, and with a number of quality players on show such as Eberechi Eze and Pablo Hernandez, it should be an exciting Championship spectacle.
Aside from Hernandez, however, there are two Leeds players who Warburton must warn his players about…
Kalvin Phillips
The 23-year-old Leeds academy graduate is arguably Bielsa’s most important player due to the role he performs in the side.
Phillips – who Aston Villa made a £15m offer for back in the summer – records a huge 4.1 tackles per game in the Championship, and Warburton should be warning his players about him; not for his attacking prowess, but his defensive qualities and ability to destroy the opposition’s good attacking play.
Additionally, Phillips has won the WhoScored Man of the Match award three times already this season – QPR must work out how to make attacking inroads without being halted by the effective defensive midfielder. Identifying weaknesses in his game, or ways to circumvent his influence, is a must.
Eddie Nketiah
While it’s certainly likely the man on loan from Arsenal doesn’t start this game – all of his ten Championship appearances have come from the bench this term – the R’s must still know all about Nketiah and how to defend against him.
The 20-year-old has an unerringly ability to find the back of the net without needing a huge amount of chances, having scored three goals in just 265 minutes of league action while taking only 1.2 shots per game.
The England U21 international netted the winning goal against Brentford back in August, and also scored a vital equaliser against Preston in the game before last, despite playing just 13 minutes.
It may take a while for him to come into the fray on Saturday, but QPR’s defence must know what to do when he does cross the white line.