Leeds United travel to Craven Cottage this weekend to take on Fulham, with Javi Gracia's side looking to put their recent thrashings in the Premier League behind them.
The West Yorkshire outfit had looked to put themselves in a strong position with regard to the Premier League's relegation battle following impressive wins over rivals Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but look to be in real trouble after successive home defeats.
Here is the latest injury and suspension news from Elland Road, ahead of a tricky game against a high-flying Fulham side on Saturday.
Who is suspended for Leeds this weekend?
None of Leeds' players will miss the game against Fulham through suspension, and none are at risk of picking up a ban due to too many yellow cards.
However, Fulham's star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will miss the game as he continues his eight-match suspension after pushing the referee in the Cottagers' FA Cup defeat against Manchester United.
What is the latest Leeds injury news?
Speaking in his press conference ahead of Leeds' trip to west London, Gracia has provided an update on the likes of Patrick Bamford, Max Wober and Wilfried Gnonto, who have all struggled with injury concerns in recent weeks.
He said: "Patrick is training but I don’t know if he will be ready. Max was available [against Liverpool] but only trained one, two days and I think now he is in a better condition to help the team.”
Gnonto could be ready after he picked up an injury on international duty with Italy, with the Spanish manager suggesting that he had tried to protect the teenager by leaving him out of the starting side for recent fixtures.
However, Stuart Dallas remains sidelined due to a thigh injury, with the 31-year-old unlikely to feature for the remainder of the season, while Tyler Adams is also ruled out because of the problem he picked up in the warm-up against Wolves last month.
What is the latest Patrick Bamford injury update?
Bamford was forced off after scoring in Leeds' 5-1 defeat against Crystal Palace recently and didn't make the squad for the game against Liverpool, so it seems as if he faces a race against time to be fit for the Fulham game.
At the time of writing, Premier Injuries suggests that he has a 75% chance of featuring against the Cottagers, but must pass a late fitness test to do so.
Given that the 29-year-old has been Gracia's preferred option up front this season, it would be a blow for the Whites to not have him available for what could be considered a must-win game against an out-of-sorts Fulham side on Saturday.
Although his goalscoring record this season has not been the best with just three goals in 22 Premier League outings, he offers a lot in the attack with his link-up play and non-stop running, which was praised by Glenn Murray and Jermaine Beckford after he returned from injury in Leeds' 3-1 win over Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup earlier this term.
Murray said: "Leeds have missed Patrick Bamford so much and everyone knows it, when you lose your goalscorer, that is the main man you don't want to lose, and he was really on the cusp of a wave."
Beckford added: "One of the main things Leeds have missed since Patrick has been out is his selfless running. The high energy, high intensity and just causing every defender all sorts of issues and problems. So to have him back with support is a major boost."
Fortunately, Gracia has plenty of options to choose from as his replacement in west London and may be forced to look to those players if Bamford isn't fit enough to start.
Who could play instead of Bamford v Fulham?
Rodrigo, who is Leeds' top scorer in the Premier League season with 11 to his name, seems the natural replacement for Bamford in the attack, especially after he was given the nod against Liverpool last time out.
Gracia did experiment with a striker-less system in the 4-1 defeat against Arsenal, with Brenden Aaronson the furthest forward in that game, but it would be a surprise to see him try that again at Fulham.
Finally, club-record signing Georginio Rutter could be an option for the Spaniard, but his lack of game time since his January switch from Hoffenheim suggests that he simply isn't fancied as the man to help keep Leeds up this season.
Therefore, it could be argued that Bamford returning to the side will be key to getting a result on the road this weekend, and with the visitors desperate for points, we wouldn't be surprised if Gracia is sweating over his availability.
It does seem that the time for experimentation is over and Leeds must simply get points on the board in any way they can if they are to maintain their Premier League status.
