Mateo Joseph and Leeds United’s midfield decision was taken as a firm choice from the starting XI

Mateo Joseph could make his long-awaited Leeds United start in tonight’s must-win Championship clash at Middlesbrough – if the Whites’ fans get their way.

The young striker has been pushing for a place in Daniel Farke’s starting line-up for several weeks with Patrick Bamford out of form. Farke preferred to go with experience, but with Leeds scoring just once in their last three games, supporters were keen to see Joseph start.

He started just two games all season – both in the FA Cup – but showed what he’s capable of when he scored twice against Chelsea in a 3-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge in February. Bamford was dropped for Joel Piroe against Blackburn but Leeds need to find a spark, with fans urging Farke to go for Joseph.

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The absence of Connor Roberts means Farke will have to make at least one change, with fans opting to recall Glen Kamara to the midfield engine room alongside Ilia Gruev, with Archie Gray moving to right-back. He would line up with Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Junior Firpo in a strong backline.

Willy Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville keep their places on the flanks, with Georginio Rutter in the number 10 role pulling the strings. As always, we’ll be covering the game here on Leeds Live, with news from the Middlesbrough team landing at 7pm on Monday night.

Leeds United XI vs Middlesbrough fans: Tradesman; Gray, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara, Summerville, Gnonto; Rutter, Joseph.