Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Saturday, 23 April 2022.
Phillips backed to start
Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has backed Kalvin Phillips to return to the starting line-up for Monday’s trip to Crystal Palace. Phillips has made two substitute appearances on his comeback trail from a hamstring injury, which saw him miss four months of the season.
Leeds have had a 16-day break from their last match against Watford, allowing the 26-year-old to get another two weeks training under his belt. Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claimed the decision to bring Phillips back in is a ‘no brainer’ against a quality Crystal Palace side.
He said: “I expect Kalvin to start. I think it’s a no brainer. Kalvin’s obviously been on the brink, he’s been on the sidelines but has been back now for what? Three to four weeks.
“I thoroughly expect him to put in Kalvin Phillips in a very, very important match away from home. It gives you that stability, that strength in that midfield and combativeness that you need.
“We’re coming up against a very, very youthful, energetic Crystal Palace side. They’re a joy to watch now under Patrick Vieira. It’s quite surprising how quickly they’ve adapted to Patrick and the change in style. Watching them now, they’re a threat from midfield and all over the field in that final third.”
Taylor hails support
Leeds United under-23s boss Andrew Taylor has saluted the club’s supporters after a record crowd turned up to watch his young side in action against Manchester City. Despite a determined performance, the Whites couldn’t pick up the result they needed as they lost 3-1 to City on home soil.
It means with just one match to play they are still in danger of Premier League 2 Division 1 relegation as they sit four points above Chelsea, who have two games in hand. However, 21,321 supporters piled into Elland Road to watch the contest on Friday night as the club smashed the division’s previous attendance record which had been held by Everton.
They couldn’t cheer United onto a fifth straight win on home soil, but Taylor believes the experience of playing in front of such a crowd will benefit his players hugely.
He said: “You think you’ve seen a lot in football over the years. That to me is incredible, over 20,000 for an under-23 game on a Friday night. It epitomises this club really and since I’ve been here I’ve been astonished every other week.
“I was speaking to their manager before the game, he said, ‘why are there so many fans here, what’s the occasion?’, ‘Just because we put it out there and said come along and they come’.”
Read more here.
Reporter’s XI
The one change we can all agree on has finally hit Jesse Marsch’s desk. After a few weeks of pushing from the media and fans for Kalvin Phillips to return, Leeds United will start the England international on Monday night.
Adam Forshaw’s injury and Diego Llorente’s patchy form make it a simple choice of Mateusz Klich alongside Phillips in the double pivot. I’d prefer to have Robin Koch alongside Liam Cooper in the middle of defence while Stuart Dallas, the other senior option, must remain at left-back as the sharpest option there.
Click here to see the rest of Beren Cross’ XI.
