Preseason Match Preview: North Ferriby United v Leeds United

Match: North Ferriby United v Leeds United

Date: Wednesday, 12 July 2017

Time: 19.30 BST

Venue: EON Visual Media Stadium, Grange Lane, North Ferriby, HU14 3AB

Television: None

Streaming: Free Live Audio on LUTV

The third of Leeds United’s preseason fixtures kicks off tonight, as the Whites travel take to on North Ferriby United. North Ferriby is located on the Humber, about 8 miles west of the Hull city centre. The football club was relegated from the Vanarama National League last season after spending one year at the highest non-league level in the English football pyramid. The team won the 2014-15 FA Trophy at Wembley.

Leeds United continued their summer transfer window spending spree this week, after agreeing to terms with both midfielder Samu Saiz and striker Caleb Ekuban. The Saiz deal had been rumored for weeks, and the player and the club finally put pen to paper on Monday. Saiz joins the Whites from Huesca in the 2nd division of Spanish football. The Ekuban rumor had been heating up in the past week or so, with reports coming out of Italy that the player was on his way to Leeds after the Chievo Verona player had spent last season on loan in Albania.

The club are additionally linked to Macedonia international winger Ezgjan Alioski who appears to be headed to Leeds from FC Lugano in Switzerland. Closer to home, Everton central defender Matthew Pennington has been linked to a move to Elland Road and even a young Manchester United fullback, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, has also been linked. At this rate, at least one more signing should be announced on the road as the team coach for tea and sandwiches.

The North Ferriby United friendly should feature the Leeds debut of Vurnon Anita, the Dutch midfielder who joined Leeds from Newcastle United last week. No word yet on if Caleb Ekuban or Samu Saiz will debut for the club, but with their deals just getting completed, it is likely that they will debut during the club’s Austrian preseason tour.

So far, the club has feature two different teams for both the first and second half of the preseason matches so far, and expect the same to occur tonight. Look to see where Anita is deployed, as he played most of last season at right-back for Newcastle after breaking into the Ajax team as a teenager under former Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol as a left-back. With the lack of depth in the back line, Anita could deputize at fullback rather than in his preferred central midfield position.

Another new signing, Poland international Mateusz Klich, was out injured for the preseason match at Guiseley, so he will likely not play if Head Coach Thomas Christiansen has any concerns about his fitness. If he does appear, consider the fears about his injury to be completely overblown. Either way, until the match against Bolton, it really doesn’t matter.

Leeds should walk away with this match as they have with the previous two non-league preseason matches, but if the results go poorly, it’s not the end of the world. As long as the players are building their fitness levels and starting to gel as a team, everything is fine. MOT