Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has decided to make two changes to his starting XI to take on Southampton this afternoon. The Whites are searching for their third successive win after beating Wolves and Norwich City before the international break.
Marsch has decided to reinstate captain Liam Cooper to the side; the centre-back has missed almost four months following hamstring surgery. He replaces Pascal Struijk in the line-up. His inclusion is contingent on the fact Kalvin Phillips takes a place on the substitutes' bench for a second gameweek in-a-row.
The England international is understood to have been behind Cooper in his recovery timeline but is in place to feature in some capacity this afternoon. Illan Meslier has recovered from 'severe bruising' following a collision with Raul Jimenez at Molineux two weeks ago; he retakes his place in the line-up after being replaced midway through the Wolves win by Kristoffer Klaesson.
READ MORE: Leeds United vs Southampton LIVE: Match updates from Elland Road clash
Tyler Roberts, Junior Firpo, Leo Hjelde, Patrick Bamford and Jamie Shackleton are the senior names omitted from the squad this afternoon. All are recovering from injury, with Roberts expected to be missing until the summer. Bamford will sit out the next five matches at least with a ruptured plantar fascia in the sole of his foot.
Here is what some Leeds fans had to say on social media.
@SherriffAlex: Good team that. Hopefully that will translate onto the pitch. #lufc
@Crowther9195: Great to see our captain back! Hopefully see a cameo from Phillips too. Huge push today lads, let's keep the ball rolling
@LUFCA1ex: joffy, struijk, phillips and koch on the bench…yeah finish me off #lufc
@MrROSSii1990: Raphinha in CAM or James up Front? Nice to see Cooper back shame about Phillips but hopefully see him on at some point :) Decent enough team to do something today so lets see how it goes.. #LUFC
@Benclufc: Cooper who has been out for months comes straight in, a huge huge risk. Oh, yeah and Joffy still can't get a game up front instead on Dan James
@DarylRS29: Big call not to start Phillips. Huge game for Cooper today. #lufc
@jshbckhS: Don’t get this Dan James striker thing me, Geldhart and Greenwood on bench, just doesn’t make sense #LUFC
@EmptyUK: Good to see Cooper back after all this time. Overall, good side for us with some doubt on Llorente who has been poor in recent weeks. Southampton lineup is very strong. This ain’t going to be easy. #LUFC
@LUFC_Max5: Cooper bagging a goal today then yeh ?
@UnitedWhite: Joffy coming back from an injury so maybe that’s why he isn’t starting?
@Chris1014Leeds: Works for me. Hopefully we won't need KP. Gelhardt can make an impact off the bench if required. Struijk has looked like he's needed a rest for a few games IMO. Just need to get the job done #lufc #MOT
