Leeds United manager Daniel Farke said Joe Rodon and Daniel James are expected to be fit enough for selection as his side travel to the Vitality Stadium to face AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday night, while Anton Stach will not make the trip after picking up an ankle injury.
"So it seems like everyone who was available for the last game is also available for this game, at least as it stands," Farke said, adding that "Daniel James meanwhile is also back in team training which is good news. He needs right now, of course, session after session." He confirmed Rodon "was already involved just before the build-up more or less to the last game so also no setback. He should also be available," and made clear that "Anton is not back in team training so he won’t travel with us to Bournemouth but all the others are back."
The selection update arrives with both teams carrying momentum. Bournemouth have extended their club-record unbeaten run in the Premier League to 13 games and arrive off a 2-1 win at Newcastle United on Saturday, a match that saw Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert on the scoresheet. Leeds, meanwhile, strengthened their position in the table by beating Wolves 3-0 at Elland Road on Saturday and earlier recorded a 2-1 league victory at Old Trafford — their first at Manchester United since 1981.
The fixture itself has recent drama: the reverse meeting at Elland Road in September finished 2-2 after Eli Junior Kroupi struck a 93rd-minute equaliser for Bournemouth. That late leveller underlines how a single moment can swing this pairing; it also frames Wednesday’s bournemouth vs leeds clash as one where fine margins may decide who takes momentum into the run-in.
Context sharpens the stakes. Leeds are eight points clear of the relegation zone with five games remaining and are unbeaten in their last five Premier League away matches, extending to eight away games without defeat in all competitions. Bournemouth, conversely, have drawn each of their last four Premier League home games, and they have failed to win any of their five Premier League matches this season against newly promoted teams — an oddity given their longer unbeaten run.
That contrast creates the evening’s tension. Bournemouth’s 13-game run suggests a side difficult to beat, but their sequence of four straight draws at home hints at vulnerability and a potential inability to press advantage. Leeds’ recent away form and the likely returns of Rodon and James give Farke options he lacked earlier in the season, yet the absence of Stach — sidelined after the ankle injury sustained in the Emirates FA Cup victory over West Ham United — removes a midfield option from his plans.
The immediate consequence is practical: Farke can consider a similar squad to the one that downed Wolves, with James available again for selection and Rodon providing defensive cover having been involved before the last game. For Bournemouth, the task is straightforward on paper but sharp in execution — break a run of home draws without sacrificing the unbeaten streak that has become the club record this season.
How Leeds balance those returns and whether Bournemouth can turn home stalemates into wins will decide more than one table narrative this week: the visitor’s continued climb away from danger, or the home side’s drive to sustain an extraordinary unbeaten run. With selection questions largely answered and Stach confirmed as absent, Farke’s squad announcement will be watched as the clearest indicator of intent before kick-off at the Vitality Stadium.
