SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
Crystal Palace travel to Elland Road tomorrow to take on Leeds, where Roy Hodgson’s men should be full of confidence following their last two results.
The Eagles have recorded back-to-back wins after beating Wolves and Newcastle.
Additionally, Hodgson’s men should fancy their chances against Marcelo Bielsa’s side, having won the reverse fixture by a 4-1 scoreline.
Let’s take a look at the XI we think will be deployed in Yorkshire…
One change in defence
Against Newcastle, the backline was largely solid. Nathaniel Clyne shackled Allan Saint-Maximin when he came on, and Gary Cahill managed to net his first Palace goal – however, we’d make one change, for one reason.
Leeds have Raphinha at right-wing, and the Brazilian has been rather effective of late.
He has two goals and two assists in his last three Premier League outings, so we feel a more defensively-sound presence is required over Patrick van Aanholt.
That man is Tyrick Mitchell. The 21-year-old averages 3.5 tackles per Premier League game this season, whereas the Dutchman averages just 1.2, which tells you all you need to know.
Unchanged midfield, Jean-Philippe Mateta in
The midfield pairing of Luka Milivojevic and Jairo Riedewald worked well at St James’ Park last time out, so that must remain untouched.
However, there will need to be another change up front after Hodgson confirmed that Wilfried Zaha would miss the game through injury.
As detailed recently, we think this would be a perfect time for Jean-Philippe Mateta to make his debut, as Leeds have conceded the second-most goals in the division this season.
The Frenchman has a great chance of scoring on his first appearance.
Predicted lineup: Guaita; Clyne, Cahill, Dann, Mitchell; Riedewald, Milivojevic, Ayew, Eze; Batshuayi, Mateta
