Leeds United to line up against feared nemesis Neal Maupay against Brighton
Leeds United will face one of their most-feared opponents this weekend if Neal Maupay lines up for Brighton & Hove Albion.
The French striker has scored four goals in six previous appearances against the Whites, more than he has netted against any other side in his career.
Meanwhile, out of players currently in the Premier League, only Bruno Fernandes (five) has scored more goals against Leeds than Maupay.
The 25-year-old netted three times against the Whites for Brentford in the Championship, before completing a £20m move to Brighton in 2019.
Upon Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League last season, Maupay was on target again as he netted the only goal of the game in the Seagulls’ 1-0 win at Elland Road in January.
Marcelo Bielsa may therefore hope that the striker is not involved when the Whites make the trip to the south coast on Saturday.
Maupay scored four goals in his first six Premier League appearances this season, but has lost his place in recent weeks.
He was left on the bench against Liverpool and then brought on as a second half substitute against Newcastle and Aston Villa.
There have been calls for him to return to the starting lineup after Brighton’s attacking woes at Villa Park last weekend – they had 63% possession but only mustered two shots on target in a 2-0 defeat.
Asked whether Maupay could help solve their issues, manager Graham Potter said: “We have to look at how we attack. Of course Neal is always in contention. He is an important player for us, as are all our players.”
Leeds have kept only one clean sheet in 12 Premier League matches this season and injury woes have left them with a makeshift defence in recent weeks.
Centre-backs Diego Llorente and Pascal Struijk have played at right-back and left-back respectively, while midfielder Kalvin Phillips started in the centre of defence against Tottenham last week.
Whites fans will hope that that doesn’t provide an environment for Maupay to cause havoc against them yet again.
In other Leeds United news, Patrick Bamford has revealed the advice he gave to one Whites sensation.