Leeds United travel to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday with three wins from their last four matches and an opponent below them in the table.
While the Gunners have major selection issues of their own with Thomas Partey, United are not in good shape either with seven senior options unavailable for Marcelo Bielsa.
Adam Forshaw, Robin Koch, Ian Poveda, Diego Llorente, Pablo Hernandez, Rodrigo and Gaetano Berardi have all been ruled out, but it doesn’t stop there.
Kalvin Phillips is a doubt, but should be considered a 50-50 call based on Bielsa’s press-conference comments.
Here’s how our Whites writers would go with the team in the capital after nine points from the last 12.
Beren Cross
In an effort to keep this feature interesting, I am going to assume Phillips is unavailable because if he were fit I would stick with an unchanged XI, case closed.
If Phillips is out we are back to that same old problem we always seem to have when he’s unavailable.
You’re looking at the lesser of two evils again and, in this case, that means pulling Mateusz Klich back to guard the defence.
I just think the experiment with Pascal Struijk can stop for now, especially with how impressive he has looked in recent weeks after finally building some chemistry with Liam Cooper.
I do enjoy Luke Ayling at centre-back, but he said this week how much he has relished being back on the right flank.
Moving Ayling inside would also drag Stuart Dallas out of midfield where, against all my expectations, he has excelled and been better than ever.
The question then is who fills the Klich hole in the centre: Jamie Shackleton or Tyler Roberts?
After being on the verge of a January exit, Roberts has played his way back into favour with some promising cameos from the bench this year.
However, I prefer Shackleton’s defensive diligence in a tough away match like this and I hope, like at Aston Villa, with the opponent attacking he will find space to exploit on the turnover and drive the team forward.
Beren’s XI: Meslier; Ayling, Struijk, Cooper, Alioski; Klich; Raphinha, Shackleton, Dallas, Harrison; Bamford.
Joe Donnohue
With news Leeds could be without Phillips this weekend, it means Struijk is in line for another start, but that is unlikely to be at centre-back.
Bielsa has options in the middle, but Struijk seems to be the player he relies on most in Phillips's absence.
This means we're likely to see a reshuffle of sorts, with Ayling shifting across to centre-back, Dallas returning to deputise at right-back after some great performances in midfield and Struijk in the holding role.
This opens up a central midfield vacuum, which could be filled by Shackleton.
Bielsa is without Rodrigo for this game, and given Dallas is likely to slot back into right-back, Shackleton could be used in the middle from the start.
Patrick Bamford doesn't look as though he is going to tire any time soon and remains the undisputed option up top, along with Jack Harrison and Raphinha on the left and right wings.
Gjanni Alioski will be relishing the opportunity to go up against Nicolas Pepe again after his antics saw the Ivorian sent off at Elland Road, while Cooper and Illan Meslier are part of the defensive furniture in a 4-1-4-1.
Joe’s XI: Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Cooper, Alioski; Struijk; Raphinha, Klich, Shackleton, Harrison; Bamford.
