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Bielsa running out of midfield options as Klich gets injured during nightmare display
Leeds United were dealt a blow against Southampton when Mateusz Klich was forced off injured in the second half.
The Whites were down to limited options in midfield prior to the match kicking off, with Jamie Shackleton missing out due to a muscle injury.
Shackleton has had more game time in recent weeks due to an injury to Rodrigo.
With all three possibly sidelined for the match against Aston Villa Marcelo Bielsa has a tricky decision to make with his line-up.
Fortunately, Stuart Dallas is playing at the top of his game currently – with a goal and a WhoScored rating of 8.5 against Southampton – while Tyler Roberts can also fill in.
The Welshman has not had many opportunities this season but looked better on Tuesday than he did against Wolves.
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He took up good positions and perhaps should have scored in the first half, but did make up for that miss by setting up Patrick Bamford’s goal.
We would also be keen to see Pablo Hernandez start a game or two.
After all, this could be his swansong season at Elland Road and with safety practically guaranteed we can afford to experiment a little.
As for Klich, he could struggle to come straight back into the side when he returns from injury – even if he has started all but two league games this term.
He was far from his best in the 3-0 win and struggled to put his mark on the game because of his sloppiness in possession.
A 68% pass accuracy left a lot to be desired, while losing five out of six duels – 84% per SofaScore – highlighted how poor he was.
He did not play much better against Wolves as he conceded possession 14 times and was dribbled past twice (SofaScore).
Hopefully, a spell out will allow Klich to rebuild his energy as the £24,000 a week midfielder has played a lot this year.
We arguably performed better once he was substituted against Southampton so it will be interesting to see how we fare without him.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Get him sold’, ‘League 1 at best’ – These Leeds fans fuming at ‘garbage’ player v Soton.