Phil Hay shares if Jesse Marsch will play Raphinha as wing-back in Leeds United v Chelsea
Phil Hay does not see Leeds United deploying Raphinha as a right wing-back for the clash against Chelsea.
The Whites are set to take on the Champions League holders on Wednesday (May 11), desperate for a result.
Their relegation rivals Burnley and Everton have picked up key wins, leaving Jesse Marsch’s side in 18th place.
With Luke Ayling unavailable, Marsch said that Jamie Shackleton, Dan James and Raphinha are all considered as potential replacements.
Discussing the possibility of playing the Brazilian there, Hay said on the Athletic, “Right-back is the big call because Luke Ayling begins a three-game ban tonight. Marsch has talked about using Shackleton, James, Raphinha or a centre-back there – but it’s hard to see how picking Raphinha in that position would set the right tone this evening.”
Common sense
It’s baffling to even consider playing the Brazilian in a defensive position.
He’s undoubtedly the Whites’ biggest goal-scoring third and needs to play as close to the opposition goal.
Chelsea are expected to dominate possession which would see Leeds in a back five more often than thought.
Raphinha clearly is not the player who is expected to win the ball off Chelsea’s wide attacking players and wing-backs.
James may put in a decent shift there and our preferred option would be Shackleton, provided he’s a 100 per cent fit for this one.
Hopefully, the 22-year-old has trained well ahead of this game and we would be delighted to see him in the starting eleven for this crunch game.