Javi Gracia takes charge of his 12th game as Leeds United manager as the Yorkshire outfit head to the south coast to face relegation rivals AFC Bournemouth this afternoon.

The Whites sit just one point above the dreaded drop, whilst the Cherries are seven points clear after they drew to rock-bottom Southampton in midweek. Leeds also drew their last outing against Leicester City after Jamie Vardy bagged a late equaliser at Elland Road.

Although it could have been a different story, with Patrick Bamford's close-range miss likely to live rent-free in the minds of many supporters over the coming weeks. It would have likely won Gracia's side the game and created more breathing room between themselves and the Foxes, who occupy that final spot in the relegation zone.

Heading into kick-off today, the Spaniard - who was appointed as Jesse Marsch's successor on a deal until the end of the season - has plenty to ponder in terms of team selection and the aforementioned striker can't be the only player at risk of dropping to the bench.

Will Marc Roca play vs Bournemouth?

Marc Roca was one of the poorer players in that encounter - wasteful in possession, weak in his battles and quite bluntly, just not good enough.

As journalist Dean Jones alluded to recently, the 6-foot powerhouse - along with Weston McKennie - have been "very, very poor," adding: "As poor as I've seen playing in such key positions all season" when speaking to GIVEMESPORT.

Indeed, the 26-year-old's display against the Midlands side was all over the place. As per Sofascore, Roca lost possession a whopping 18 times, gave away two fouls. was dribbled past twice and won just 45.5% of his duels - both on the ground and in the air.

Perhaps uncharacteristically, his expected goals ratio of 0.41 was due to one big chance missed in front of goal, which was greater than Bamford's at 0.30, which is surprising considering just how awful his miss was from two yards out.

Leeds United manager Javi Gracia

The £50k-per-week ace - who was slammed for being part of Leeds' "lightweight" midfield recently - could well struggle again as Bournemouth's midfield are quite physical with players like Jefferson Lerma and Philip Billing likely to start; both have combined for 11 yellow cards this season alone.

Roca, a £10m signing from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in the summer, has probably been fortunate that Tyler Adams has been absent through injury but that said, Gracia shouldn't just play someone because he's one of few options, particularly if he's underperforming.

There is Brenden Aaronson, Adam Forshaw and Pascal Struijk all capable from the bench last time out, so the Spanish head coach must look to drop his fellow countryman, along with Bamford, from the starting XI against the Cherries.