Following the red card and subsequent three match suspension given to Luke Ayling in last Sunday's loss to Arsenal, Jesse Marsch was left with a decision to make for Wednesday evening's match against Chelsea. Leeds' manager mentioned Jamie Shackleton, Robin Koch, Raphinha and Daniel James as options he was considering.
Raphinha and James both had to fill in for short periods in the games against Manchester City and Arsenal but it seemed that Shackleton was the obvious choice, given that he has played the position most often. When the team sheet was released at 6.30pm on Wednesday, it looked as if Marsch had decided to go for one of his centre backs in the role, given that there were four of them in the starting XI. However, when the team took their positions on the field, it became clear that the American had gone for three centre backs, with Pascal Struijk playing as a left wing-back and Raphinha on the opposite side.
Given how important the Brazilian has been to Leeds' attack this season, it seems difficult to justify that selection. In his pre-match press conference, Marsch himself stated that he wanted to find a way to get Leeds' best attacker closer to the opponent's goal.
