Liam Cooper nowhere to be seen, Rodrigo dropped : Leeds United confirmed XI v Arsenal
Leeds United have confirmed their starting XI for the crucial trip to Arsenal, needing points in the Premier League relegation battle.
Jesse Marsch said this week he expected captain Liam Cooper to play but he is missing from the squad.
Diego Llorente does come back in for Pascal Struijk, while Joe Gelhardt and Dan James start in place of Rodrigo and Stuart Dallas.
The manager had confirmed on Friday that long-term absentees Dallas, Adam Forshaw and Tyler Roberts were all out, having suffered season ending injuries.
It is still too early to risk Patrick Bamford, and youngster Crysencio Summerville was also declared unavailable.
Pressure
After Burnley’s winning run finally came to an end against Aston Villa on Saturday (7 May) this is a massive opportunity to provide some breathing space.
Everton will still have a game in hand and can put their own pressure on if they get a result at Leicester.
In wretched form only a few weeks ago, Mikel Arteta’s side have put together a run of three strong wins, over Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham.
The 4-0 defeat to Manchester City last time out was an unwelcome return to the defensive frailty that brought Marcelo Bielsa’s time at the club to an end.
While Pep Guardiola’s side have the ability to do that to anyone, the loss of the captain in the warm up to go along with Llorente was a major blow.
The pair had proved crucial in the 3-0 win over Watford and followed up with another clean sheet against Crystal Palace.
United are a different side when forced to put together a makeshift back line, which has been all too often this year.
And with the awful injury to Dallas against City ruling him out long term, it is another big miss for this side.
In other Leeds United news, Gabby Agbonlahor has called Whites fans “annoying” while making his prediction for the Arsenal game.