Phil Hay claims odds are high on Helder Costa starting for Leeds v Aston Villa
Phil Hay has claimed that the odds are “pretty high” on Helder Costa starting for Leeds United against Aston Villa on Saturday evening.
The Portuguese winger changed the game against Southampton on Tuesday, with the Whites scoring three goals after his introduction at half-time.
Hay claimed that with Jack Harrison struggling to perform in recent weeks, it could be time for Costa to earn his first Premier League start since November.
Writing in an Athletic Q&A on Saturday, Hay claimed that the tactics of Aston Villa may not suit Costa as much as Southampton’s did on Tuesday.
“The odds must be pretty high,” he wrote.
“Harrison has been out of sorts for a couple of games and Costa made a big impact on Tuesday. That said, Villa will not play in exactly the same way as Southampton did.
“They won’t be quite as aggressive as Southampton so it might be that Costa finds it more difficult to shine as he did in midweek. Southampton were almost the ideal team for him to play against, because of their tactics.”
Costa has been excellent in recent weeks.
The penny must have finally dropped, with the Portuguese international having been shocking over the Christmas and New Year period.
Not only did he claim a couple of assists against the Saints this week, but he also found the back of the net at Arsenal and should have scored against Wolves.
Marcelo Bielsa has kept trust in Harrison for two seasons now, but Costa is certainly making it much tougher, which is a great headache to have.
His last Premier League start was in the 4-1 defeat against Crystal Palace, where he was dragged off after that freak own-goal.
The response has finally come, could we see a reward for that this evening?
In other Leeds United news, Whites want to sign this defender soon becoming free-agent