Leeds United will take on last season’s Championship rivals and fellow promoted club Fulham on Saturday, in what will be their second Premier League fixture. The Whites are coming on the back of a late and narrow 4-3 defeat at the hands of Liverpool in their last league game. They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Hull City, so Marcelo Bielsa will be desperate for a win.
Predicted Leeds United Lineup Vs Fulham
Defence
Bielsa made wholesale changes to his defence against Hull, giving rare opportunities to a host of young players. They didn’t exactly perform well, and the Argentine will revert those changes this weekend.
Liam Cooper had missed the game against Liverpool but is fit to feature on Saturday. The Leeds captain is set to partner new signing Robin Koch at the heart of the four-man backline. His reliable presence and experience should be useful for the German international, who endured a rusty start to his Premier League career.
Luke Ayling is a guaranteed starter at right-back, with Stuart Dallas also replacing Barry Douglas on the opposite flank. The latter needs to improve his defensive discipline this time out.
Kiko Casilla is pushing for a start after impressing against Hull. However, Bielsa is likely to retain his trust in Illan Meslier, who must gain some experience at the highest level of football.
Midfield
Kalvin Phillips was one of Leeds’ best players in the game against Liverpool. He is a guaranteed starter in the defensive midfield role, coming at the expense of Oliver Casey. He will be expected to run the show in the middle of the park with his ability to read the game, combined with a brilliant range of passing likely to help the home dominate proceedings.
Phillips will be supported by the returning duo of Pablo Hernandez and Mateusz Klich, who is fit to feature despite picking up a late knock against Liverpool last weekend.
Attack
There will be wholesale changes in the attack as well, with Jack Harrison and Helder Costa more than likely to replace Ian Poveda and Ezgjan Alioski in the wider attacking positions.
Harrison, in particular, made quite an impact in the last game and is one of the players to watch out for.
The same cannot be said for Rodrigo Moreno, however. The Spaniard failed to impress against Hull and might make way for Patrick Bamford in the number nine role, thus becoming the last of Bielsa’s expected changes from the midweek side.
