Phillips & Meslier start, no Poveda, 18y/o makes squad debut: Confirmed Leeds starting XI v Hull
Leeds United fans have been calling for Illan Meslier to start for the past few weeks now, with Kiko Casilla in a slump of form.
They got their wish today albeit in circumstances no one would have wanted after Casilla was found guilty of racism and banned for eight games.
The pressure on Meslier to perform would have been huge at any time but with just 11 games left in the season and Leeds fighting for promotion, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.
Just to make things even worse, Leeds have no experienced stand-in – it’s Meslier or bust now. 18-year-old Elia Caprile makes his squad debut and he’ll be the back-up goalkeeper.
The team news was announced on the official Leeds United Twitter page ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off, with the game being shown live on Sky Sports.
Meslier couldn’t have asked for a much better introduction than against today’s opponents.
Hull haven’t won since New Year’s Day and are suffering from the loss of Kamil Grosicki and Jarrod Bowen in January.
Three points and a clean sheet would be the dream result for Leeds and for Meslier and would take Leeds to within a point of West Brom at the top, and increase the buffer back to third to eight points.
In other Leeds United news, ‘This isn’t the end of it’ – Exclusive: Paul Robinson delivers hardline verdict on FA charge