Leeds United Under-21s will aim to give their promotion hopes a huge shot in the arm this evening when they take on Southampton on the south coast. The Whites returned to winning ways on Monday night as they edged out Aston Villa 2-1 at Elland Road, thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson and Sean McGurk.
That was enough to see Leeds leapfrog Nottingham Forest in the Premier League 2 Division 2 league table and move up to second, but they have the opportunity to retake the spot at the summit this evening. The Saints are currently leading the way at the top of the division after going seven league games without defeat, but they are just one point above Leeds going into this one.
United have topped the division for a majority of the season, remaining unbeaten through the first nine games to enter the World Cup break with a comfortable lead. However, starting the new year with three successive defeats ensured they were reeled back in by those below them. With just six games to go, though, they have the chance to reassert their dominance tonight at Southampton’s Staplewood training ground (KO 7pm).
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Paco Gallardo is expected to be the man in charge of the U21s this evening. The former Sevilla midfielder had been working with the youth side before being asked to step up and help out at a first-team level alongside Michael Skubala, following the departure of Jesse Marsch.
As reported by The Athletic, Skubala will be staying with the senior side to work under Javi Gracia and won’t be returning to his U21s head coach role. As such, Gallardo will take charge of the youth side for the remainder of the season, assisted by Michael Pujdak.
With the first-team playing Southampton at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon, Gallardo isn’t expected to have his strongest XI available to him. Diogo Monteiro, Mateo Joseph and Darko Gyabi have all been in the first-team squad over the last couple of weeks, while Kristoffer Klaesson will be on standby as the club’s third-choice goalkeeper.
That means Dani Van den Heuvel may well be the man between the sticks. He made a couple of fine saves during his last appearance at Newcastle United and he could come back in.
A backline of Kris Moore, James Debayo, Jeremiah Mullen and Conor Ferguson looks likely. Ferguson has been one of Leeds’ best in recent weeks after making the step up from the Under-18s and he’ll be keen to continue his good form against Saints, who Leeds thumped 6-2 at Elland Road earlier in the year.
Morten Spencer and Cian Coleman could occupy the middle of the field, behind Charlie Allen, Joe Snowdon and McGurk, who will be riding a wave of confidence after his winner on Monday night. Sonny Perkins may have high hopes of being involved in the first-team squad on Saturday, however, given he has just returned from injury, he might benefit more from another run out with the youngsters and that would make him the obvious choice to start up front.
Predicted XI: Van den Heuvel; Moore, Debayo, Mullen, Ferguson; Coleman, Spencer; Allen, Snowdon McGurk; Perkins
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