Leeds United will face Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road next Saturday afternoon.
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Tottenham Hotspur stand in Leeds United’s way as Daniel Farke’s men look to make it three games unbeaten when the two sides meet at Elland Road next Saturday lunchtime.
The Whites have collected four points from their last two games after following their 3-1 win at Wolves last weekend with a home draw against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon. Those results have taken into mid-table and a win against Spurs could lift Leeds level on points with their fourth placed hosts.
It has been a promising start to the season for Spurs and they have begun Thomas Frank’s managerial reign with just one defeat in their first six Premier League fixtures. However, there was some frustration for the former Brentford boss after his side stumbled to a 1-1 home draw against bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday and needed a late goal from summer signing Joao Palhinha to rescue a share of the spoils.
The visitors threatened to finally rack up their first win of the season when defender Santiago Bueno put them in front nine minutes into the second half - but Spurs belatedly grabbed a point when former Fulham midfielder Palhinha netted in the fourth minute of injury-time.
Frank handed opportunities to a number of his summer additions - but the performance of £51 million signing Xavi Simons has provoked a lot of discussions after the former Bayern Munich man struggled to make an impact in a position on the left-hand side of the Spurs forward line. Frank has opened up on Simons’ form and gave an indication of what could lie ahead as his side turn their focus towards Tuesday’s Champions League visit to Bodo/Glimt and Saturday’s Premier League clash at Leeds.
What did Thomas Frank say about Xavi Simons after Tottenham Hotspur’s draw with Wolves?
Speaking after Saturday’s draw in North London, the former Brentford boss said: ”I think Xavi had some good actions, also carrying the ball forward and you had to foul him three or four times, but there was a lot of situations where he was not as sharp, I think that's fair to say. I think he would say the same himself. I also think it's natural - you're coming into a new team, a new league. To find that rhythm quickly is difficult. I think we're very happy with the Brighton performance in many ways, the first half was also positive, but that free flow that we need to keep working on. And then there are just some days where we don't hit the highest level.
“I think it's trying to get the right balance into the team. For me, also to learn and find out how we can get the best players on the pitch at the right time. So, that I'm of course looking into. I'm very aware that Xavi he can play as a 10. He also got in as a 10 against Brighton because that was the third game in a week. That was positive. I think today when he got in as a 10, it didn't really work, and that was not only because of him, by the way. I think the whole team was out of sync in the last 35 minutes. I'll try to look into what is the best midfield.”