Leeds United fans have once again urged Jesse Marsch to hand Joe Gelhardt a start for this afternoon’s trip to Arsenal. Gelhardt’s last start for the Whites came against the Gunners in December and after another positive impact from the bench against Manchester City last weekend, supporters want to see him in from the off.
The clash at the Emirates is another big game at both end of the table, with Arsenal vying for a place in the top four and Leeds battling for survival. But despite Leeds’ positive showing with a back five against City, supporters would like to see a return to Jesse Marsch’s more familiar 4-2-2-2.
That would see Liam Cooper regaining his place after overcoming the knock that saw him withdraw in the warm-up last Saturday ahead of Pascal Struijk. With Stuart Dallas set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, that would mean Gelhardt is the man to replace him, which pushes Luke Ayling over to right back.
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Diego Llorente will be pushing for a recall to the starting XI, but fans have called on Robin Koch to keep his place in his more familiar centre back role after an impressive showing last week. Elsewhere, Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich retain their places in the midfield pivot, as they start alongside each other for the third match in a row.
Raphinha, Jack Harrison and Rodrigo Moreno were not at their best against Man City, but it is they who fans have backed to keep their places ahead of Daniel James, who started on the bench last weekend.
Leeds fans’ XI (4-2-2-2): Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Firpo; Phillips, Klich; Raphinha, Harrison; Gelhardt, Rodrigo
