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Farke on injury list, Bahoya 'hype' and in-form Bournemouth

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

  • Leeds United have a "way better" injury situation than last weekend. Nico Elvedi has recovered from illness, returned to training and should be available. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor are also in contention after having "good training weeks".

  • If Calvert-Lewin is available, it will "of course" alter the way his side look to build in attack: "You always play to your strengths and he is a pretty all-round player with aerial strengths. If he is on the pitch, we want to deliver more crosses into the box and adapt our play a bit. We have our DNA in attack, but we also want to play to his strengths in all the different ways."

  • However, Anton Stach is "still struggling with his foot injury a little bit". It is hoped the defensive midfielder's condition improves "over the next 48 hours", but for now there is "a question mark" over his availability.

  • Joe Rodon is into the next stage of his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury, having "part-integrated into team training" this week. He will need "session after session" on the grass before he is even considered for the first team.

  • On Dan James' fitness, Farke admitted: "It is crucial that he stays fit and trains with consistency now. It is his second full training week and each day is important for his belief and his body. It isn't enough to just be available at this level, you also have to earn your spots to be in the squad or on the pitch." He added: "He was in my mind for our last game against Sunderland because I can see him improving day by day, but I decided in favour of Jean-Matteo Bahoya because he is a player of similar strength."

  • But Farke questioned why there is "all this hype" around French winger Bahoya, who is on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt with an obligation to buy. He explained: "I like that we believe in our players and I love to see him progressing, but if we keep putting pressure on him then he will never be a success. I ask people very politely to not ask me about him in each and every interview - and especially not in the supermarket when I'm buying my milk, orange juice and dark rye bread for the week. There is nobody that backs him more to be a success than me."

  • Leeds United travel to Bournemouth after "a good training week" but they are expecting "a tough game" from "probably the most in-form Premier League team at the moment".

  • On Marco Rose's side scoring 14 goals and conceding none across their past five games: "They are really used to their process because they aren't doing anything to dissimilar to what they were doing under Andoni Iraola. They play with a good rhythm, they are full of confidence and they have big unity on the pitch." However, he believes his side has similar strengths.

  • They will look to be "relentless" against their in-form opponents: "We want to hold a high intensity ourselves. If we do that, it will be hard for any team to be switched on for 90 minutes against us. If and when their legs start getting tired, perhaps we will have even more of a chance to score a late goal. If we deliver our best performance, we will have a chance at this tough place."

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