Despite all the comings and goings of the summer transfer window, Leeds United’s bigger squad is still likely to yield a young and inexperienced Premier League bench tomorrow. In short, the starting line-up virtually picks itself with seven senior options unavailable.
Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo, Adam Forshaw, Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas, Daniel James and Luis Sinisterra will all be watching on from the stands at Elland Road. That septet’s absence leaves a senior line-up which most onlookers would agree on.
Mateusz Klich is the one option outside the XI with enough experience to pose Jesse Marsch a selection question, but his place in the pecking order is now plain to see. You would expect Sam Greenwood or Joe Gelhardt to be the American’s considerations if he was minded to drop Rodrigo.
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As it is, especially after Sunday’s 6-2 demolition, it’s hard to see Marsch being minded to move around his team at all on Saturday. Pascal Struijk is the best option at left-back in Firpo’s absence, while Patrick Bamford showed more than enough progress in his 90-minute run-out to keep Gelhardt at bay.
Rodrigo is the one candidate you may have considered most at risk, but he could not have done much more against Cagliari. If a hat-trick doesn’t keep him in the team, what does?
Predicted line-up: Meslier; Kristensen, Koch, Llorente, Struijk; Adams, Roca; Aaronson, Rodrigo, Harrison; Bamford.
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