Leeds United will have a tough task dealing without one of their key players when they face Nottingham Forest, according to one of the club’s former players.
The Reds take on the Whites at in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday.
Sabri Lamouchi’s side are currently in fourth in the league table, and four points behind Marcelo Bielsa’s side who occupy second place and the final automatic promotion place.
The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw in August, with Lewis Grabban netting a late equaliser at Elland Road.
Leeds will be without midfielder Kalvin Phillips for the clash on Trentside, with the 24-year-old suspended after picking up a red card in their 1-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers last month.
Saturday’s match against the Reds will be Phillips’ third of his three-game suspension.
Phillips was also sent off in Leeds last visit to the City Ground, after he received a straight red card in Forest’s 4-2 win on New Year’s Day last season.
Former Leeds defender Danny Mills reckons it will be difficult for his old club to deal without Phillips in midfield.
“With Phillips still suspended, that’s a bit of a blow in the midfield,” Mills told Football Insider.
“They’ve had a week, they looked a bit jaded against Wigan, it’s a huge game, they battered Forest early on in the season, absolutely battered them and conceded a poor goal, that was a scruffy goal as well.
“It depends on who plays in midfield, what he does in that area. He’s obviously going to have to switch that around without Kalvin Phillips who is vital. As much as Dallas did alright the other day, they have huge holes at times.
“There were times where White, Ayling and Cooper were left at the back and there was a huge gap, 30, 40 yards in the middle of the pitch, a huge gap that Kalvin Phillips usually sits there and patrols.
“Without his discipline in that area, Leeds look vulnerable, especially on the counter-attack.”
