Leeds United will host Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League season-defining clash at Elland Road this afternoon and Sam Allardyce will be feeling the pressure.
A victory is the only outcome that will keep the Whites in with a chance of avoiding relegation as Everton are currently two points ahead of them in the nail-biting climax of the hard-fought battle at the bottom of the table.
Allardyce will lead his team out in front of the home support hoping that the Elland Road faithful will get behind the team and provide some much-needed motivation to get their job done, no matter what unfolds over at Goodison Park.
Whilst the former England boss will not want to make too many changes to his most trusted starting XI, there is no doubt that something needs to change following the defeat to West Ham United last weekend.
Subtle tweaks in key areas by deploying players who offer passion on the pitch and the experience to provide quality in the final 90 minutes of action will be essential and could be the catalyst in performing a miracle.
As a result, Allardyce must ditch Weston McKennie this afternoon as the midfielder has displayed a poor work rate and has put on uninspiring performances on too many occasions.
Will Weston McKennie start vs Spurs?
The 24-year-old came with high expectations when he joined the West Yorkshire outfit from Juventus in January after putting on some fantastic performances in the 2022 World Cup.
However, it hasn’t been the impactful nor impressive loan spell that Leeds supporters would have hoped for, with McKennie becoming more of a hindrance than a help in his important role in the centre of the pitch.
Over 18 league appearances, the £54k-per-week dud - branded “lazy” and “slow” by journalist Dean Jones - has created zero big chances, lost 58% of his duels and tallied up just a 78% pass completion rate, as well as averaging just 0.7 key passes, 0.6 successful dribbles and has lost possession 11.2 times per game.
Indeed, McKennie did provide Rodrigo with the chance in front of goal against the Hammers last weekend, but it was his poor efforts and lack of control in midfield that contributed to the side losing the game.
Not only that, from a mentality perspective McKennie could be less likely to have the motivation to secure survival due to his imminent return to Juventus upon the end of his six-month loan deal, whereas some of the mainstays could be more driven to perform to keep their chances of playing Premier League football alive.
Allardyce will have the opportunity to deploy Adam Forshaw, Robin Koch and thanks to a timely return from injury, can replace McKennie with Marc Roca.
With that being said, dropping McKennie to the bench could be the change that is desperately needed to improve upon last week’s performance and ultimately secure the vital three points.