Leeds predicted XI vs Southampton: Phillips, Raphinha and Koch start

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Leeds United are one of the Premier League sides who may have been raring to go following the international break ahead of their clash with Southampton on Saturday.

Leeds went into the break off the back of two wins. The victories over Norwich and Wolves have moved the Whites seven points clear of the bottom three.

A similar set of results against the Saints and Watford will take Leeds to the brink of safety.

That will certainly fuel Jesse Marsch’s men. But so will the idea of avenging arguably the worst performance of Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure, which came against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side at St Mary’s.

Leeds have received some mixed injury news ahead of the game. Patrick Bamford is facing a fight to play any further part this season.

But the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Liam Cooper could all return against Southampton. Meanwhile, Diego Llorente, Mateusz Klich and Illan Meslier could all feature after coming off against Wolves.

And our predicted lineup includes a few of those names.

Certainly, Meslier comes back in. Meanwhile, Phillips and Raphinha also start against the Saints. And it would not be a shock to see Cooper come back.

However, Pascal Struijk and Robin Koch get the nod at centre-back ahead of the skipper.

Daniel James starts up front with Bamford out. That may come as a disappointment to some who want to see the ‘special‘ Joe Gelhardt start. But he is also recovering from a knock.

Leeds vs Southampton: Phillips starts, but Gelhardt left on the bench

There is also a chance that the game may come too soon for Phillips. Marsch suggested after the Wolves game that the England international was never going to play at Molineux. So there has to be some doubt over whether he would be ready to start against Southampton.

But the next two games could take Leeds to the brink of safety ahead of some tough fixtures. So perhaps it is the right time to gamble on Phillips if it is a flip of a coin.

With that in mind, here is how Leeds may line up against Southampton…