Predicting Marsch's first Elland Road starting line-up as Leeds host Villa

Leeds United host Aston Villa in the Premier League tonight hoping to get their first win on board since mid-January.

The Whites are currently in a poor run of form and are hovering just two points above the relegation zone.

Since the 3-2 win against West Ham in January, Leeds have lost six and drawn one of their games.

The Whites have also suffered some heavy losses, shipping 10 and scoring none in Marcelo Bielsa’s last two games in charge.

This prompted the Elland Road hierarchy to sack the popular Argentine and bring Jesse Marsch in.

Leeds looked a lot more solid last week against Leicester and could’ve easily got something out of the game.

Sadly, a combination of Kasper Schmeichel shining in goal and a lapse in concentration at the back cost the Whites dear.

Leeds will now face a Villa side that has returned to form, winning their last two games, scoring six and conceding none.

So, who could Marsch pick in his first game at Elland Road? The Boot Room takes a look.

Leeds team news ahead of Villa clash

First, let’s look at the team news ahead of the match.

After the loss to Leicester, Marsch said Adam Forshaw “wasn’t able to train throughout the week”.

The 30-year-old had to make do with a place on the bench as Robin Koch and Mateusz Klich started in the middle.

Meanwhile, Diego Llorente missed out on last week’s matchday squad after Marsch said his availability was “questionable”.

Both are available again, while Patrick Bamford is also set for a return to action off the bench after being an unused substitute last week.

However, Tyler Roberts is set to miss the rest of the season following surgery, Marsch estimating his return to be three to four months from now.

Marsch is likely to once again go for a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Illan Meslier in between the sticks.

We predict that Diego Llorente will come in at centre-back, which will lead to a couple of players switching positions.

Luke Ayling, who played at centre-back last time out, could return to his preferred right-back position.

Meanwhile, we predict Stuart Dallas will also remain in the XI, but will move up to midfield.

Pascal Struijk did well to recover from his early yellow card last week and he certainly deserves another start.

And on the left flank, Junior Firpo – who also played well against Leicester – should retain his place.

In midfield, a now fully-fit Forshaw could return to the XI and get his first start under Marsch.

The 30-year-old – who Simon Grayson deemed a “fantastic professional” – would partner Dallas in the double pivot.

This means both players who started in midfield last week – Koch and Klich – would drop to the bench.

Further up, we think Marsch will stick with the players he named in the XI last week.

That is, Raphinha and Jack Harrison on the flanks, and Rodrigo Moreno and Daniel James up front.