It’s back to Elland Road tomorrow and the big games just keep on coming now.
After the disappointment at Southampton last weekend we’ve got to hope that Leeds can get something against Wolves now.
After a poor start to the season, Wolves have now won their last three games and I don’t think they’re a bad side at all. In Connor Coady they have a real leader at the back, and he is a very, very important player for them. They have plenty of flair and quality with the foreign lads, but Coady is the glue that holds it all together for Wolves.
They are also a real threat from set-pieces which is a concern given our frailty at defending them sometimes. I’m sure Marcelo will have driven home the importance of not giving anything away to present them with an opportunity around the box.
Kalvin Phillips continued absence is a huge, huge blow for us, but the return of Raphinha will be massive. You’d expect him to come straight back into the side although who he will replace is a conundrum. My hunch would be that he will come in for Dan James despite him being one of the few who did ok at Southampton last week.
I don’t like Pascal Struijk in the holding role replacing Phillips, but other than Adam Forshaw I’m not sure there’s another real option there. It’s such a key position and we’ve not managed to fill it successfully when Kalvin hasn’t been available.
We’ve also got to look for more from Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts tomorrow. Marcelo has given them both plenty of opportunities, but for all they work hard, we haven’t seen anything in terms of the quality to conjure up a goal.
Goalscoring with Pat Bamford is a real Achilles heel for us and as I said after the Southampton game, maybe, just maybe, it’s worth sticking Joe Geldhart in there from the off. He’s the leading goalscorer at the club and he will be full off confidence. The Premier League is a huge step up from Under-23s football, it’s another world, but why not take a punt? It might just prove to be the spark we need because after last weekend, we need something.
