Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has provided a fitness update on his squad, ahead of the club’s upcoming meeting with Aston Villa.
Leeds host Villa
The Peacocks are set to return to Premier League action on Saturday evening, in a meeting with Dean Smith’s men at Elland Road.
Leeds will head into proceedings with their tails up, on the back of a much-needed 3-point haul last time out.
On the back of a pair of successive defeats, at the hands of Arsenal and Wolves, Bielsa and co. got things back on track courtesy of a 3-0 drubbing of Southampton.
Leeds United’s Raphinha celebrates scoring their side’s third goal of the game during the Premier League match at Elland Road, Leeds. Picture date: Tuesday February 23, 2021. (Photo by Gareth Copley/PA Images via Getty Images)
Aston Villa, on the other hand, have managed just a solitary victory from their last four in the English top-flight, leaving the Claret and Blue just a solitary point clear of their upcoming hosts in the Premier League table as things stand (albeit with two games in hand).
Phillips ruled out
As such, a tightly contested affair is widely predicted at Elland Road in 48 hours’ time.
Visitors Villa are of course expected to be without star man Jack Grealish for the encounter, after the English international picked up a fitness issue in training last week.
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 28: Jack Grealish of Aston Villa in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Leeds, though, will also be unable to call on a number of key performers.
Speaking in a press conference this afternoon, Marcelo Bielsa was asked for an update on the status of his squad.
And the Argentine first went on to confirm that both Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo are set to miss out once again this weekend. When pressed further on the former’s situation, Bielsa explained:
‘His injury is in his calf. It’s a place where we have to avoid that he has a recurrence because the recurrence makes the situation worse. So we’re being very cautious so that when he returns, he returns for definite.’
Also set to play no part versus Villa, meanwhile, is long-term absentee Robin Koch, whilst Mateusz Klich, who was forced off versus Southampton last time out, remains a doubt:
🗣️ Marcelo Bielsa has ruled Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo out of Leeds’ match against Aston Villa, while Robin Koch is expected back in the first week of March. Mateusz Klich is “doing pretty well” but Bielsa is unsure about whether he’ll be fit enough for #GW26.#FFScout #FPL pic.twitter.com/8RQgh3X2WB
— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) February 25, 2021
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This article was edited by Robert Fosterman.
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table
# | Team | MP | D | P |
Player | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 8 |
Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
---|---|---|---|
Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 6 |
Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 7 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 4 |
Player | Team | Assists |
---|---|---|
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 4 |
Source: 101greatgoals.com