Leeds United face arguably their toughest test of the season so far when they host Brentford in the Championship tonight, knowing a victory could take them back to the top of the league.

Any fears that the Whites may suffer a hangover after the heartbreaking way they lost the play-off semi-final to Derby in May have been emphatically dismissed with Marcelo Bielsa's side playing some excellent stuff in the opening weeks of the campaign.

However, the issue for Leeds last season often came when they were missing key players, with the club hit with a ridiculous injury list throughout their promotion push.

And, that could be happening again, with three players a doubt for tonight's fixture - including skipper Liam Cooper.

If he does miss out, we will get to see whether concerns about the depth at Elland Road are fair and the biggest worry for many is the lack of options at centre-back.

Most felt a new centre-back was needed to add to Pontus Jansson and Cooper but the Swedish international was surprisingly sold to tonight's opponents, meaning that Ben White's arrival from Brighton didn't improve the strength in depth.

Therefore, Gaetano Berardi is likely to be the one to step up again and it will be his first appearance at this level since his disastrous night against the Rams.

The 30-year-old struggled from the off and his stupid red card late on was a defining moment in the tie and even though he is a popular figure because of his no-nonsense style, he isn't really a centre-back.

Berardi has spent most of his career as a full-back but Bielsa has been happy to use him in a central role, despite his unconvincing displays.

Such performances have created an anxiety at times and if he struggles against the Bees, those worries will resurface at Elland Road and it could impact the atmosphere around the club.

Thomas Frank's team will test Berardi in many ways, with the forward options at his disposal capable of dropping deep, spinning in behind and they are always a threat with the quality they have in the final third.

So, this is a huge test for the defender as he looks to regain some trust from the Leeds faithful tonight and a failure to deliver could leave the recruitment team open to questions on why they didn't bring in another centre-back to address what was a glaring issue in the past year.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.