By Mark Smith

8th Mar, 2022 | 4:10pm

Micah Richards stunned by Chris Sutton attack on Philippe Coutinho ahead of Leeds United v Aston Villa

Micah Richards has leapt to the defence of Aston Villa star Philippe Coutinho ahead of the Leeds United showdown on Thursday.

While the Brazilian was getting all of the plaudits ahead of the trip to Elland Road, Chris Sutton shot them down instantly.

Sutton insisted that Coutinho hasn’t played anyone of note yet, sharing that the Whites were “awful” at the time of the reverse fixture.

Speaking live on BBC Radio 5 Live Monday Night Club, Sutton kickstarted the attack on Coutinho ahead of the showdown.

“I’ve just googled who he has played against,” he said. “He played against Everton who have been rank rotten all season, Leeds who have just changed managers, they’ve been awful.

“You and Micah can get as excited as you want.”

Richards couldn’t believe what he was hearing, admitting that it is one of the worst things he’s ever heard.

“That is one of the worst things you’ve ever done.”

Awful?

Our defence was all over the shop at Villa Park, but yet the home side only dominated for that crazy 15-minute spell in the first half.

For a Brazilian superstar that Richards keeps going on about in this snippet, he was dominated for the majority of the game.

Now that Jesse Marsch has replaced Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds already look far more solid and that could keep Coutinho even quieter this time.

Sutton and Richards got sucked into the Coutinho debate and let the “Awful” line slip, something that we will take personal into Thursday evening.

With injury boosts on the horizon, Marsch could easily dominate Villa and take home the first three points of his Leeds career.

Then, they will finally forget about Coutinho.

In other Leeds United news, Andrea Radrizzani has interacted with a fan on Twitter who has unleashed on Gabby Agbonlahor