Following five wins and two draws in their opening seven Championship fixtures this season – keeping six clean sheets in that sequence – the Leeds United starting XI was largely picking itself in the early stages of the campaign.

It meant that a lot of fringe players in the squad have had to be patient in waiting for an opportunity, but that time may now have come with the Yorkshire outfit losing three of their last four league games.

The previous two defeats against Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday, in which Thomas Christiansen's men have conceded six times and scored just once, mean that the 44-year-old could look to make some major changes for the visit of Reading to Elland Road on October 14.

Christiansen certainly has some time to work on his tactics during the current two-week period without a match, and there will be individuals that perhaps haven't been given much of an opportunity this term that will be looking to impress him on the training ground.

Here are three fringe Leeds players that deserve a chance after the international break…

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson

You don't play for Manchester United or get scouted by Leeds United unless you have something about you, but for whatever reason it just hasn't worked out for Borthwick-Jackson at Elland Road since he joined the club on a season-long loan deal in August.

Three of the 20-year-old's four appearances for the Yorkshire outfit have come in the EFL Cup, with the defender featuring for just 82 minutes in the Championship.

With Vurnon Anita beginning to struggle in the left-back role and Gaetano Berardi far from convincing there against Sheffield Wednesday, perhaps it is time to give the Red Devils youngster a prolonged run in the starting XI to see what he can do.

Ronaldo Vieira

After making 38 appearances in all competitions for Leeds last season, Vieira will be disappointed with how life is going under Thomas Christiansen this term.

Like Borthwick-Jackson, the majority of his game time has come in the EFL Cup and he has featured for just 54 minutes in the Championship.

The 19-year-old would have been particularly frustrated when Mateusz Klich was chosen instead of him against Cardiff when Eunan O'Kane was unavailable through illness, and perhaps now is the time to give him an opportunity in the middle of the park considering O'Kane and Kalvin Phillips were so disappointing against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.

Hadi Sacko

Like Vieira, Sacko was something of a regular in the Leeds team last season after making 38 appearances in all competitions, but he has almost been completely frozen out by Christiansen so far this term after his loan was made into a permanent move to Elland Road during the summer.

The 23-year-old didn't feature at all between the EFL Cup win against Port Vale on August 9 and the clash in the same competition against Burnley on September 19, while the 28 minutes he got as a substitute against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday were his first in the Championship since the opening day.

Having scored a fine goal against the Clarets, Sacko perhaps deserves the chance to start with the likes of Kemar Roofe and Gjanni Alioski struggling to make an impact from the wide positions right now.

Do you agree, Whites fans? Let us know below.