Leeds United will be looking to continue their pre-season winning streak on Sunday morning when they take on Aston Villa at Suncorp Stadium. The Whites have beaten Blackpool and Brisbane Roar so far this summer, but the clash against Steven Gerrard’s side promises to be their sternest yet as Jesse Marsch continues to prepare his side for the Premier League season ahead.
The head coach managed to get a majority of his squad some game time earlier this week during the club’s 2-1 win over the Roar at the Cbus Super Stadium and his use of players in that game could give us an insight into his thinking for Sunday. With that in mind, Leeds Live attempt to predict how Leeds could line-up against Villa.
Illan Meslier looks set to be involved for the first time Down Under after missing Thursday’s outing. He trained well on Saturday in front of around 1,000 supporters and he’ll almost certainly get his first minutes of the trip between the sticks.
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If that open training session is anything to go by then Leif Davis and Rasmus Kristensen will be the Whites’ starting full-backs, having featured heavily in a crossing drill in Brisbane. With the start of the Premier League season fast approaching and Junior Firpo being ruled out, Davis will have the chance to stake a claim and nail down a spot with his performances in Australia.
With Liam Cooper carrying an Achilles issue and Leo Hjelde having a calf injury, Diego Llorente and Robin Koch may be picked in defence, particularly following Pascal Struijk’s 90-minute stint in the Gold Coast. Tyler Adams will be looking for his first start in a white shirt and the same could be said for Luis Sinisterra, who only played about half an hour against the Roar.
The pair need to pick up match sharpness and they’ll be keen to impress against the Villans. Elsewhere, Dan James only had 30 minutes on Thursday and may well be hoping to pick up a little more game time this weekend, while Patrick Bamford looks set to play a key role up front.
Bamford sat out of Leeds’s training session on Saturday as the club continue to manage his workload but he is expected to play extended minutes.
Predicted Leeds XI to face Villa: Illan Meslier; Rasmus Kristensen, Diego Llorente, Robin Koch, Leif Davis; Marc Roca, Tyler Adams; Luis Sinisterra, Brendan Aaronson, Dan James; Patrick Bamford.
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