Leeds United will entertain Huddersfield Town at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon hoping to overtake West Bromwich Albion with a win at the top of the English Championship table. Both the Whites and the Terriers will come into this clash on the back of 4-0 victories against Hull City and Charlton Atheltic respectively.
Marcelo Bielsa is expected to opt for a 4-1-4-1 formation and might keep changes to a minimum for this weekend’s highly anticipated Yorkshire derby.
4-1-4-1 Leeds United Predicted Lineup Vs Huddersfield Town
Defence
Kiko Casilla will once again miss out after the FA banned him for eight matches for racially abusing Charlton’s Jonathan Leko. Therefore, Illan Meslier will be a nailed-on starter in between the sticks following his impressive display versus Hull last weekend. The French goalie kept a clean sheet in that game which will do his confidence a world of good.
Liam Cooper will resume his defensive partnership with Ben White at the heart of the Leeds defence as they look to keep Fraizer Campbell quiet on Saturday. Luke Ayling will continue to feature as the right-back while Stuart Dallas plays on the other side in the left-back position.
The Whites currently have the best defensive record in the Championship, only allowing 30 goals in 36 league matches so far. Hence, Bielsa will be quietly confident about his side’s chances of securing another shutout at the back this weekend.
Midfield
Kalvin Phillips will operate as the deep-lying, defensive midfielder. His main task would be to provide enough protection to the Leeds backline when they are left exposed on the counter. The talented duo of Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez will play in more advanced positions at the centre of the park. Their job would be to distribute the ball accurately so that they can create some decent openings going forward.
Jack Harrison will look to cause a few problems for the Huddersfield defenders down the left flank while Helder Costa tries to do the same thing on the right. We can expect Ezgjan Alioski and Jamie Shackleton to make up the numbers on Bielsa’s bench.
Attack
Patrick Bamford could get another chance to impress as the centre-forward up top. He will be desperate to find the back of the net in front of the Leeds supporters at Elland Road and put an end to his recent drought in front of the opposition goal.
Tyler Roberts put in an excellent cameo off the bench in his last outing and has got two quick-fire goals to show for his efforts. He will fancy his chances of scoring as an impact substitute if Bielsa calls upon his services on Saturday.
