Here is your Leeds United morning digest for Tuesday, December 1.
Phillips tipped for a place in England’s best XI
Former Leeds full-back Stephen Warnock believes Kalvin Phillips’ man-of-the-match performance away at Everton puts him in the conversation for England’s starting XI.
Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate was watching on at Goodison Park as the Whites academy graduate put in an exceptional performance as a deep-lying playmaker.
"It was magnificent from Phillips (against Everton) and Gareth Southgate will be delighted with his performances as well,” Warnock told Sky Sports News.
"And I think he has a big decision to make who he plays in that holding position, whether it be him or Declan Rice.
"Personally, I think Phillips is (ahead of him). I think the quality that he shows both going forward and his ability to start attacks, and his understanding of breaking up the play. I think he has a better passing range than Declan Rice.”
Injury latest ahead of Chelsea clash
Marcelo Bielsa will be hoping to have his first-choice XI available on Saturday when he locks horns with old foe Frank Lampard.
The crunch clash at Stamford Bridge will be the first Premier League meeting between Leeds and Chelsea since 2004.
The Argentinian coach named an unchanged XI for the win over Everton and may be able to once again, while he has the likes of Helder Costa, Rodrigo Moreno, and Ian Poveda as further options.
It remains to be seen whether Spanish duo Diego Llorente and Pablo Hernandez, who were both unavailable against Everton, will be back in time for the trip to Stamford Bridge, with Bielsa likely to give an update in Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
Jamie Shackleton, Adam Forshaw, and Gaetano Berardi also remain on the treatment table.
Here’s all the latest injury news in full detail.
Leeds no ordinary promoted team
Leeds Live writer Joe Donnoue has delved into the remarkable stats behind the Whites'’ Premier League campaign so far.
Ten matches into the season has provided an opportunity to take stock of how Leeds are holding their own in the top flight of English football for the first time after a 16-year exodus.
Leeds are third in terms of xG (expected goals) so far this term and would be sixth in a table extrapolated from xG for and against on a game-by-game basis.
Mateusz Klich also stands out individually, having registered the most pressures for any one single player so far this season.
Only Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea have averaged more possession than Leeds, who have had at least 50% of the ball in every single game they’ve played so far in 2020/21.
