Sunday 31st January 2021 2.00pm | Walkers Stadium
Leeds are the visitors to the Walkers Stadium on Sunday lunchtime as the Whites look to build momentum after picking up their first points of 2021 against Newsactle United. Having started his first game for the Whites since his arrival from Real Sociedad due to various hamstring injuries, Diego Lllorente looks set to join Adam Forshaw on the long term absent list with another similar reaccurance. Fortunately for Bielsa, Pascal Struijk is getting better and better each game. The Former Ajax youngster already has a 'Whoscored' average rating of 6.67, placing him in 10th place, out of 21, and on the rise! Marcelo Bielsa has no new injury concerns ahead of Sunday's game. Mateusz Klich surprisingly remains on the bench with Stuart Dallas starting in midfield.
Brendan Rodgers will be without two of his most influential players, which will certainly delight Leeds fans. Jammie Vardy will miss just his 14th game since his team picked up their Premier League Winners medals in the 2015-16 season after undergoing hernia surgery last week. He is joined by defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi who picked up a hamstring injury against Everton. The importance the defensive midfield has for Leicester is as important as Phillips is to Leeds. It has been a dufficult campaign for the Nigerian, blighten by injuries, missing the reverse fixture at Elland Road earlier this season. Vardy on the other hand, was hugely influential in the 4-1 win for The Foxes.
The last time these two sides met was was at the beginning of last November and Leicester punished Leeds United on the break and far more composed in front of goal. As Patrick Bamford headed an easy chance straight at Kasper Schmeichel at one end of the pitch, Leicester broke with Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes combining to give the Foxes the lead. There is no questioning the importance of Vardy to the way Leicester lay, he is lethal on the counter attack. Without Vardy the way Leicester play fundamentally changes and Leeds may have more oportunities without Vardy on the pitch. That said Leicester fought back on Wednesday to secure an important draw with high flying Everton thanks to a Youri Tielemans strike.
The Foxes are looking to record a league double over Leeds for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign, when the sides were in the Championship. Leeds United have won only two of their last 16 matches against Leicester City in all competitions. Leicester are nine matches unbeaten in all competitions. Seven of those games have come in the Premier League - only leaders Manchester City are on a longer unbeaten top-flight run. Leeds have won three of their past five league games, losing the other two. They have won eight matches at the season's halfway stage, the same number they won in the whole of their previous top-flight campaign in 2003-04. Patrick Bamford is Leeds' top scorer with 10 league goals but he has gone four top-flight appearances without adding to his total. Seven of his 10 goals have come in away games.
Leeds Starting XI
Meslier, Ayling, Cooper, Struijk, Alioski, Phillips, Raphinha, Dallas, Rodrigo, Harrison, Bamford
Subs: Casilla, Creswell, Davis, Shackleton, Klich, Costa, Roberts, Hernandez, Poveda
...good job I am not paranoid... but then again that doesnt mean they are not out to get me... 
