Leeds United’s predicted line-up vs Spurs in the Premier League | OneFootball

After falling to a timid 2-0 defeat to Brighton last time out in the Premier League, Leeds will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they take on Tottenham at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side came into the game against the Seagulls off the back of three very impressive results against Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United, picking up five points and remaining undefeated in the process.

Therefore, falling short against a side languishing in the bottom half of the table last week would no doubt have been frustrating for Bielsa, and he could well react to that by making some key changes for the visit of Spurs.

With that in mind, below is a look at how Leeds might line up when Spurs come to town.

In goal, Illan Meslier will be hoping to keep his 11th clean sheet of the Premier League season and move into fourth in the rankings among all the division’s top goalkeepers.

The backline could see one key change, with the underperforming Gjanni Alioski dropping out and Stuart Dallas coming back in to fill the gap at left-back, while a returning Liam Cooper – back from his three-game suspension – will have to settle for a place on the bench.

The middle of the park could see a different combination as well, with Rodrigo having returned from injury last week to play a solid half-hour against the Seagulls, so Bielsa may be tempted to start him from the off just to freshen the home side’s attack.

With news being confirmed that Helder Costa is set to miss the rest of the campaign with the back injury he sustained against Manchester United last time out, Bielsa may finally hand 21-year-old Ian Poveda his first Premier League start after a number of cameos in recent weeks.

With Raphinha’s status for the game still uncertain, Poveda could well line up on the right-hand side with Jack Harrison on the opposite flank.

Up front, Patrick Bamford will be hoping to break his goalscoring duck of five Premier League games by netting against Ryan Mason’s side.

Predicted XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Dallas; Koch, Poveda, Klich, Rodrigo, Harrison; Bamford.

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