Leeds United will be reeling off the back of two consecutive defeats in the Premier League after Arsenal and Wolves came away with all three points. Their defeat to the latter will be hugely frustrating for the team, given that the goal that came against them was a freak Illan Meslier own goal.
What’s your prediction for Leeds vs Southampton?
Leeds win
Draw
Southampton win
Focus now shifts to this evening’s match against Southampton and Marcelo Bielsa will not take kindly to settling for anything less than three points. However, the Saints held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s last Saturday and will be hoping to expand on this positive result following six successive top-flight reverses.
Leeds will host Southampton at Elland Road at 6pm – here’s how Football FanCast has predicted the Whites to lineup…
Ezgjan Alioski was dropped against Wolves because of his poor performance against Arsenal in their 4-2 defeat. However, the £15,000-a-week man may return to the lineup this evening so Stuart Dallas can rejoin his usual position in midfield. This will also pave the way for Diego Llorente, who has been out of action since a ten-minute appearance against Newcastle back in January, to return.
If he starts today, he will be making only his third first team appearance since joining the club in the summer, as per Transfermarkt. The £22,000 per week signing has been sidelined with a groin and hamstring injury, but has returned to training ahead of fellow centre-back Robin Koch.
Jamie Shackleton’s lacklustre display against Wolves could see him demoted to the bench. With Dallas likely returning to midfield, he will link up with Mateusz Klich in the middle of the park. Behind them will be Pascal Struijk, who will protect the backline in the absence of Kalvin Phillips.
All eyes will be on star wingers Jack Harrison and Raphinha as fans urge them to put in an influential performance alongside Patrick Bamford. They will need to catch Southampton on the back-foot, as they will undoubtedly be fancying another result today following on from their strong showing against Chelsea.
In other news, Leeds run high risk of losing Raphinha the more he shines…
