Leeds vs Spurs –Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur meet at Elland Road on Saturday, with both teams looking to rebound from humiliating midweek Premier League defeats.
On Tuesday, Liverpool scored six unanswered goals against the Whites, while Antonio Conte’s team limped to a 1-0 defeat against Burnley.
There’s no shame in finishing second at Anfield, but Marcelo Bielsa must have been troubled by the manner in which his side surrendered, as the Leeds manager watched his side lose 6-0 to the title-chasing Merseysiders.
On the day, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both scored braces for Liverpool, while Joel Matip’s mazy forward forays eventually resulted in a goal, and Virgil van Dijk scored the easiest header he will ever score to round off an emphatic victory for the Reds.
After the game, Bielsa revealed that the possibility of relegation is starting to worry him, as Leeds and their porous defense are currently in 15th place in the table, just three points ahead of Burnley, who have seen their fortunes improve, despite having played two more games.
After supervising a 1-0 defeat to 18th-placed Burnley on Wednesday night, Antonio Conte, the ex-Chelsea and Inter Milan manager, hinted that his stint at Tottenham could not be lengthy.
While Tottenham struggled to put pressure on Nick Pope as Harry Kane struck the crossbar, Burnley hung in there and were rewarded when Ben Mee outjumped Cristian Romero in the air to head home the winner from Josh Brownhill’s perfect cross.
Conte made an upset figure after the loss, which dropped Spurs to eighth place in the Premier League table, seven points behind Manchester United with two games in hand, and agreed that the club should make “an assessment” on his future.
Leeds vs Spurs – Team News:
Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper, and Sam Greenwood are still out for Leeds, and Diego Llorente was added to the quartet before the Liverpool setback due to a hamstring problem.
Given his poor performance against Manchester United, some expected Llorente to be dropped in any case, and Robin Koch is also poised to miss this one as he recovers from a head injury incurred against the Red Devils.
Bielsa’s hand is thus pushed in a number of places, but the Whites boss could consider reintroducing Tyler Roberts and Jamie Shackleton to the starting XI to add some variety.
Meanwhile, Spurs have been dealt a new worry in the form of January signing Rodrigo Bentancur, who was substituted at halftime following an embarrassing tumble in the sweltering circumstances against Burnley.
Pierluigi Gollini is a doubt owing to illness, while Oliver Skipp (groin) and Japhet Tanganga (knee) are battling uphill battles to recuperate from their ailments.
Conte may decide to reintroduce Lucas Moura to the first team this week, allowing Dejan Kulusevski to switch to a wing-back position as Emerson Royal retires.
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Firpo; Shackleton, Forshaw; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison; Roberts
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Kulusevski, Winks, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lucas, Kane, Son
Leeds vs Spurs – Head-to-Head:
Our Prediction: Over 1.5 Goals
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