The ‘invaluable’ player will not be in Leeds United’s squad to face Norwich City tonight

With home advantage, the knowledge of beating Norwich both home and away in the regular season and boasting the second-best home record in the Championship throughout 2023-24, Leeds will be heavy favorites .

But this is the playoffs, and as history shows, anything can happen with that much pressure on the games. Nothing would be better for Leeds than scoring an early goal and getting the Leeds fans going.

However, they will have to do without a crucial player as Leeds Live reports the squad to face Norwich on Thursday night at Elland Road. Dan James and Connor Roberts are included in the side.

Patrick Bamford is missing from the Leeds squad to face Norwich

Leeds Live have listed the Leeds squad that Daniel Farke will pick from ahead of Thursday night and a notable omission is Patrick Bamford, with a knee injury expected to see him miss the game.

England’s lone man picked up the knock in the 4-3 win over Middlesbrough and saw the former Norwich striker miss the last three games against QPR, Southampton and then the first leg.

Instead, Farke will have Georginio Rutter, Joel Piroe, Mateo Joseph and Joe Gelhardt to choose from as top options. Of course, Pascal Struijk and Stuart Dallas will also be ruled out due to injuries.

Bamford’s absence will be a big blow for Leeds against Norwich

The striker’s unavailability is a big blow for Farke and Leeds, as his absence has shown how important he is to this Leeds side, his ability to hold the ball up and dictate two defenders, creating space.

When Bamford plays, it allows the likes of Willy Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville a little more space to work their magic. Jon Newsome recently described Bamford as “invaluable” despite the forward’s criticism.

It will be interesting to see how Farke starts at the top, whether it’s with Piroe, Joseph or he stays with Rutter. If he does the latter, it will also be up for debate whether Archie Gray stays in the 10 role.

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