Leeds United v Fulham FC - MATCH THREAD - Cooper & Rodrigo in for Struijk & Hernandez

[YorkshireSquare]

Leeds United v Fulham FC

Saturday 19th September 2020 15:00 | Elland Road | Live on BT Sport 1


After arriving back in the Premier League with a bang against Liverpool last weekend, this week has very much been a return to reality. Knocked out of the EFL Cup by Hull City on Wednesday night Leeds now face fellow promoted team Fulham on Saturday. Whilst the performance at Anfield impressed and won Leeds United and Marcelo lots of plaudits from supporters and pundits alike it will be points that matter this season as Leeds look to re-establish themselves in the Premier League and Saturdays game represents a good early opportunity to get three points on the board.

Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has good news at Thursday’s press conference, confirming Liam Cooper should be fit to line up alongside his new central defensive partner Robin Koch. There are no new injuries concerns ahead of Saturdays match and Adam Forshaw is back in group training and will continue his rehab next week following hip surgery towards the end of last season. Fulham midfielder Stefan Johansen remains a doubt for the Cottagers with a foot injury while the returning Jean Michael Seri is being assessed after lacking match fitness.

Fulham will also be looking for their first points of the season having suffered a three-nil loss to Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season. Arsenal debutants Gabriel and Willian impressed as Arsenal blew away Fulham with goals from Lacazette, dos Santos Magalhães and Aubameyang. Fulham will hope not many of their games are as tough as playing in-form Arsenal, but there were signs this could be another leaky season at the back. There was little to get excited about at the other end too, with only two shots on target, both from outside the box.





Points were shared last season with Fulham winning 2-1 at Craven Cottage whilst Marcelo Bielsa gave Scott Parker a second half schooling at Elland Road as Leeds ran out 3-0 winners back in June. Fulham had come out with intensity and aggression which had Leeds on the back foot but a cool finish from Patrick gave Leeds a one nil lead after ten minutes. The introduction of Pablo Hernandez changed the game in the second half and Leeds dominated, sealing the win thanks to goals from Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison.


Leeds Lineup
Meslier, Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Dallas, Phillips, Costa, Rodrigo, Klich, Harrison, Bamford

[The Subhuman]

Same 11 for me and a prayer that Bamford doesn't live down to my expectations...

[Fridge]

Quite excited for this one. We should be giving this lot a thumping, there really is no excuse for anything other than 3 points here.

Same 11 for me and a prayer that Bamford doesn't live down to my expectations...

Have to agree with you here. Rodrigo could do with a few more weeks of training before we look at starting him, Bamford should have enough to get us the points against Fulham.

[mothbanquet]

Quite excited for this one. We should be giving this lot a thumping, there really is no excuse for anything other than 3 points here.




Have to agree with you here. Rodrigo could do with a few more weeks of training before we look at starting him, Bamford should have enough to get us the points against Fulham.

I actually like a few moments from Rodrigo last night, there was the odd flash of what we can expect in the future. But definitely for now, Bamford is our man and we have to back him. Also he proper showed me up against Liverpool.

[Fridge]

I actually like a few moments from Rodrigo last night, there was the odd flash of what we can expect in the future. But definitely for now, Bamford is our man and we have to back him. Also he proper showed me up against Liverpool.

Agree with all of this.

Very excited to see Rodrigo, think he showed a good work rate last night and with a few weeks to integrate himself and better service, he will look very impressive. As with the rest of the team, as he spends more time working in the system things will become second nature and he will only improve.

Bamford also showed me up against Liverpool. I've been a very harsh critic of his but he had a very good game. His work rate, as always, cannot be faulted. Just lacks that cutting edge for me, I would love for him to continue to prove me wrong.

Another note on Bamford, I may criticise his finishing but I have buckets of respect for him off the pitch. Time and time again I have seen him representing our club in the best way. Always seems to be giving away match shirts or doing charity livestreams (and personally matching all donations). A hard working player but an even better person.

[Ellandback1]

Leeds host their first Premiership game in 16 years against fellow promoted side Fulham on Saturday afternoon.

The Cottagers took a hammering on the opening day of the season losing 3-0 at home against Arsenal and are odds on favourites to drop back down to the Championship, along with West Brom and either West Ham or Aston Villa (both at 2/1) to follow. (Leeds are 10th favourite for relegation)

Liam Cooper has fully recovered from his calf injury, and will probably play on Saturday afternoon

During his press conference Bielsa reveals that Liam Cooper has fully recovered from his calf injury, and will probably play on Saturday afternoon meaning Struijk will be dropped to the bench.

It is also revealed that record signing Rodrigo will again, start on the bench, with Bamford the lone striker.

Bielsa must decide whether to keep faith with Hernandez at the heart of midfield (following his disappointing display at Anfield). After an impressive performance against Hull, Ian Poveda stands by for his starting call up!

[mothbanquet]

Yup, if we're going to be a Premier League team, this is a game we should be winning. We wrote our cheques with Liverpool, now it's time to cash them.

[YorkshireSquare]

How’s everyone feeling? Important one this I think!

[HarryofOz]

How’s everyone feeling? Important one this I think!

Confident in our coach and players but nervous because it is an important match.

[Scoobychief]

Hugely important, because we have home advantage and playing fulham who we beat quite comfortably last season, so i would expect nothing but a win and 3 points, important to get our first 3 points on the board in the premier league, be interesting to see how rodrigo performs when he comes on, need pablo on form and the rest of the lads on form, go for a win straight from kick off. but defo need 2 or 3 more players in before window closes, this de paul is a must for starters.......
COME ON LEEDS 3-0 PLEASE

[The Subhuman]

Fulham have beaten us recently though, they probably deserve to have this shot at staying in the Prem. We may also come down a bit after, possibly, playing our cup final. We used that term for teams that played us last two seasons and for the most part recognized they didn't fare as well the following week. We're reliant on Paddy as the goal scorer for the most part which makes me worry a lot. He has a lot more off games than on in my opinion

First goal is key and it's 50/50 who scores it right now with our defence in flux

We are the better team by a distance but sometimes that isn't enough. I think I need the win more for the sake of the forum than LUFC who ultimately I think will be just fine this season but a repeat of the Hull kneejerk will have me pulling out my hair

[mothbanquet]

How’s everyone feeling? Important one this I think!

More nervous than the Liverpool game. that's for sure. I just want to (and think we will) have a convincing win, something to back up the not unjustified hype.

[The Subhuman]

More nervous than the Liverpool game. that's for sure. I just want to (and think we will) have a convincing win, something to back up the not unjustified hype.

For me it's too early to draw the conclusion that it's unjustifiable hype even if we lose. Judgement will come once the new guys are integrated including any still to arrive.

[mothbanquet]

Fulham have beaten us recently though, they probably deserve to have this shot at staying in the Prem. We may also come down a bit after, possibly, playing our cup final. We used that term for teams that played us last two seasons and for the most part recognized they didn't fare as well the following week. We're reliant on Paddy as the goal scorer for the most part which makes me worry a lot. He has a lot more off games than on in my opinion

First goal is key and it's 50/50 who scores it right now with our defence in flux

We are the better team by a distance but sometimes that isn't enough. I think I need the win more for the sake of the forum than LUFC who ultimately I think will be just fine this season but a repeat of the Hull kneejerk will have me pulling out my hair

I can't see the first team putting in the kind of performance that drew so much criticism after the Hull game, even if we lose. You are right though, fan reaction will likely be generally over the top and counterproductive if we do. We should remember that we're in the Premier League as a newly promoted team and we have to be prepared to not get a win for a few in a row. We only need enough points to guarantee safety at the end of the day.

I'm saying nothing about Bamford. I had a dig at him last time and he scored the second I posted.

[andrewjohnsmith]

Come on Leeds. We rubbed shoulders with the best last week but came away with nothing. This is the game that matters. This is where we separate ourselves from the yoyo teams and the relegation teams.

Despite the comparative performances this week, we're both two teams that played one and lost one. Let's make this count

Marching On Together

[lufc1304]

Nervous anticipation. If we perform like we did against Liverpool, we should get the win. But, as others have pointed out, it isn't a gimme, nor will not winning be the end of the world. We had a free hit last week, the expectation that this is a much more winnable game could work either. Might be a blessing there is no crowd.

[Sara]

Another note on Bamford, I may criticise his finishing but I have buckets of respect for him off the pitch. Time and time again I have seen him representing our club in the best way. Always seems to be giving away match shirts or doing charity livestreams (and personally matching all donations). A hard working player but an even better person.

Good to hear. Didn't know about that side of him.

[The Subhuman]

Meslier
Ayling
Dallas
Koch
Cooper
Phillips
Klich
Costa
Harrison
Hernandez
Bamford

Rodrigo, Shackleton, Caprile, Alioski, Struijk, Roberts, Poveda

[The Subhuman]

Cooper back in so another brand new defensive partnership, Caprile not Casilla on the bench may mean either injury or we've had an offer

[1964white]

Meslier
Ayling
Dallas
Koch
Cooper
Phillips
Klich
Costa
Harrison
Hernandez
Bamford

Rodrigo, Shackleton, Caprile, Alioski, Struijk, Roberts, Poveda

Nice one