BBC pundit: These two key Leeds players have been found out

Wed 5 April 2017 18:43, UK

By Alex Stevens

Noel Whelan has claimed that key Leeds attacking pair Chris Wood and Pablo Hernandez have been partly found out by opponents.

Leeds’ top scorer Wood and leading goal creator Hernandez have made little impact in the team’s last two matches.

The Yorkshire giants followed up their 1-0 Championship defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Reading on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at 12th-placed Brentford on Tuesday night, both matches in which they were comprehensively outplayed.

Asked if Leeds have been found out following their two setbacks, former Elland Road striker Whelan pinpointed Wood and Hernandez as two who have been less effective.

“Teams are defending across the halfway line and that’s stifling Wood and Hernandez,” Whelan told BBC Radio Leeds on Tuesday night in the immediate aftermath of the team’s defeat.

“If Hernandez can’t create anything and Wood can’t score, what do they do? Leeds’ midfield is too defence-minded at times, and they’re not looking like a promotion midfield in terms of their goal contribution.

“I think they have been found out a little but they don’t need to change the formation. You could put [Kemar] Roofe next to Hernandez to make runs from deep – he’d be a good target to flick balls onto.”

Hernandez has been a mainstay of the team since joining initially on a loan last summer that was converted into a permanent transfer in January.

He has made 32 appearances this season, scoring four goals and weighing in with eight assists, with all of these contributions coming in league matches.