All eyes will be on whether Liam Cooper’s name is in the Leeds United starting XI when they host Chelsea tonight. There was an expectation that he would return to the squad at Arsenal but Jesse Marsch confirmed that he was still feeling pain in his knee.
The Leeds boss revealed – in his pre-Chelsea press conference – that the captain has trained with his teammates and should be available against the Blues. The game will come too soon for Patrick Bamford although there is a hope that he will be in full training by the end of this week with a view to some involvement in the final couple of games.
The biggest problem that Marsch must navigate on Wednesday is how he addresses the absence of Luke Ayling at right-back. His sending off at Arsenal means he will play no further part this season, meaning whoever plays on the right side of the defence against Chelsea will probably play against Brighton and Brentford.
Read more: Jesse Marsch gives Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford injury update ahead of Leeds United v Chelsea
Jamie Shackleton seems likely to be the replacement for Ayling but Marsch admitted that he has considered the idea of moving one of the centre-backs out to the right. Raphinha and Dan James, who both operated on the right of a back five in the Arsenal defeat, are also in the running to start in that position again.
In midfield, Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich are likely to start again as the pairing in the middle of the park. Although, Lewis Bate put his name in the hat for a starting berth as he was very impressive off the bench at the Emirates on Sunday.
Further up the pitch, there are more choices to make in attack. Joe Gelhardt was sacrificed in the defensive change that was made to rectify Ayling’s dismissal. He will be desperate to remain in the starting XI, especially considering his first Leeds goal came against Chelsea earlier in the season.
Full Leeds United squad vs Chelsea: Meslier, Firpo, Koch, Cooper, Raphinha, Klaesson, Llorente, Rodrigo, James, Struijk, Harrison, Phillips, Bate, Gelhardt, Hjelde, Cresswell, Greenwood, Klich, Shackleton, Gray, Kenneh
