Who joins Llorente?
Diego Llorente is firmly expected to be one of the two enforced changes made to last weekend’s Leeds United XI, but who will be the second?
There is no telling how many changes Marcelo Bielsa may choose to make, but with Junior Firpo and Adam Forshaw expected to be out, we know there will be a couple at the very least.
If Llorente comes into central defence alongside Pascal Struijk, the other is a toss-up between Leo Hjelde, Rodrigo and Lewis Bate.
Hjelde at left-back with Stuart Dallas alongside Mateusz Klich, or Dallas at left-back with Rodrigo or Bate in the centre?
What role do the new returners play?
Tyler Roberts and Joe Gelhardt were the pleasant surprises in this week’s press conference, but what role will they play today?
It is 20 days since they each made their last appearances in the Burnley win, so it’s nothing like the lay-offs Struijk and Rodrigo had to recently endure.
Given the team won on Sunday with Daniel James in attack, the smart money could be on Bielsa sticking with what he has from the start.
We all know what kind of reaction Gelhardt gets when he emerges at Elland Road though.
Into the Elland Road cauldron
It may be less than three weeks since the last match at home, but it feels like an eternity since we saw the win over Burnley.
Returning home from the capital with the bounce of an unexpected, inspiring win in their steps, the team are sure to feel the love this afternoon.
With the table looking better and players returning from injury, there is a real sense of buoyancy back in the air around the club now.
With relegation battlers Newcastle United turning up to spoil the party, in what’s a six-pointer for them, with a raucous away following, this has all the elements of a memorable LS11 occasion.
End Newcastle’s Leeds hopes?
Eddie Howe may already feel, in his heart of hearts, Leeds are too far ahead of Newcastle to be caught and dragged into the relegation mire.
Basic maths would tell Howe his best chance of survival is dragging Watford into the mix, but the league table has to tell him this Leeds match is a critical, rare chance for the Magpies to win.
The gap is 10 points with 18 matches apiece still to play. If Leeds win they have to seriously believe that’s one more team with no chance of catching them by the time May arrives.
Bringing back the good times
This season has proved a drag for the most part with injuries and poor results marring any kind of momentum or chances to build on last season’s ninth-placed fever dream.
After a long line of unforgettable victories with Bielsa, the unexpected win at top-four hopefuls West Ham United, and in such swashbuckling fashion with Jack Harrison’s hat-trick, felt like the fog was lifting.
To beat a bottom-six rival, at home, clinch a third win on the bounce, extend the best run of the season and potentially move into mid-table could restore the feel-good factor of 2020/21.
