Leeds United will be worrying that a promotion collapse is now well underway, after going the last three Championship games without a win with the performance and result against Blackburn Rovers last time out a real concern.
The Whites would end up losing 1-0 to John Eustace's Riversiders courtesy of a late Sammie Szmodics strike, the second tier's top scorer showing the wasteful Leeds attackers where the back of the net is in the narrow defeat.
Daniel Farke will be riddled with even more doubt now over who he should start in the attacking positions going forward as the games become more tense to make the goals flow again, with Crysencio Summerville's set-in-stone position in the first-team up for grabs even after his dismal showing against Blackburn.
Crysencio Summerville's performance in numbers
Summerville has failed to score in his stuttering side's last three second-tier contests now, drawing yet another blank frustratingly against Eustace's visitors.
Failing to hit a single on-target effort at Aynsley Pears' goal in the 1-0 defeat, the usually electric Dutch winger also found all ten of his crosses go astray on a poor day at the office for the 22-year-old.
Unable to complete one successful dribble in the narrow loss as well, on top of squandering possession a staggering 28 times, the 5 foot 9 attacker could find his spot filled by somebody else versus Middlesbrough up next after such an off-performance.
This would be a very bold selection call by Farke, with Summerville having started every league game since being left out against Ipswich Town last August, but the German boss showed he can make rash switches by starting Wilfried Gnonto ahead of Daniel James in the 1-0 loss.
Gnonto will feel he's done enough to secure another starting spot for the upcoming trip to Boro, but Joel Piroe will be anxious that he will return to the substitutes bench again after putting in an anonymous display against Blackburn.
Joel Piroe's performance vs Blackburn in numbers
In another tweak from the XI that stumbled to a 0-0 draw against Sunderland, Piroe was preferred as the lone striker ahead of Patrick Bamford for the visit of Eustace's men.
This was a switch that didn't work out whatsoever for Leeds however, with the ex-Swansea City striker unable to really kick into gear against a resilient Blackburn defence and bag a decisive goal.
Piroe would fall victim to the same fate as Summerville by failing to fire a single on-target effort at the Riversiders net from his 90 minutes on the Elland Road turf, alongside seeing 11 of his 34 passes go astray in a below-par display from the struggling Whites number seven.
It wasn't a surprise, therefore, to see LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross hand out a scathing 3/10 rating to Piroe in the direct aftermath of the demoralising defeat – Cross stating that the 24-year-old attacker 'brought nothing' when it came to troubling the Blackburn back four.
Minutes played
90
Touches
43
Accurate passes
23/34
Shots on target
0
Duels won
3/7
Possession lost
13x
Scanning the table above, Bamford could well find a way back into his manager's starting lineup again ahead of Piroe after the 6 foot 1 striker's dire performance against Blackburn.
Farke will hope whatever XI he fields for the trip to the Riverside Stadium next can be the lineup that picks up a much-needed win, making the promotion-chasers confident again instead of being uncertain over whether or not they're cut out to be in the Premier League next season.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
