Leeds United will be looking to build on last Sunday's win over Norwich City with a positive result away to Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend. The Whites face Bruno Lage's Wolves side at Molineux on Friday evening, a fixture which has been previewed by Jesse Marsch this morning.
Wolves drew one apiece with Leeds on their visit to Elland Road earlier this season; Rodrigo's last-minute penalty, won by the jinking run of second half substitute Joe Gelhardt, salvaged a point for the hosts. The Midlands club are renowned for their miserly defending and boast one of the Premier League's most in-form goalkeepers with Jose Sa between the posts, meaning Leeds' task is far from a straightforward one.
Speaking ahead of Friday night's contest, Jesse Marsch has provided an injury update of sorts on Leeds United's currently unavailable players. He also indicated Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper would be available for selection this weekend after both took part in training this week.
READ MORE: Live Jesse Marsch Leeds United press conference blog here
"Liam and Kalvin are fully in training and are eligible for this weekend," Marsch said. Cooper was pictured out on the grass with his teammates earlier this week; it was initially believed Cooper would be ready to return sooner than Kalvin Phillips however that may no longer the case, much to the delight of Leeds supporters. Needless to say, Phillips is expected to be left out of Gareth Southgate's England squad set to be announced later today, due to his non-involvement following hamstring surgery over the past three months.
Marsch also provided injury updates on Joe Gelhardt, Leo Hjelde, Jamie Shackleton and Lewis Bate: "Joffy has a little bit of a back issue. We think he'll be ready for the match but we're not certain. Lewis Bate and Jamie Shackleton picked up injuries in the U23s match."
"He was a little sore and physically the game was very demanding," Marsch said on Patrick Bamford. "He seems to [have] come out of it in a good way and he should be ready."
"Rodrigo will train today and we're hopeful everything is going to be ready to go. We're hopeful that he'll also be ready for tomorrow," Marsch added.
Junior Firpo was withdrawn on a stretcher against Aston Villa seven days ago; Marsch also provided an update on the Spanish full-back. The former Barcelona defender has endured a difficult first season at Elland Road, beset by injury, positive COVID results, intermittent form and now managerial change. Marsch speculated that Firpo will be absent for '3-5 weeks' with an MCL (medial collateral ligament) strain.
