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Bamford, Ayling, Struijk feature: All the latest Leeds United team news ahead of Brentford clash

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Signs are looking good for Leeds United with Marcelo Bielsa hoping to welcome back key players as the game against Brentford looms.

Brentford are the latest team to travel to Elland Road in the Premier League, with the Whites hopeful of taking three points in successive games for the first time.

Leeds haven’t been helped this season by the volume of injuries throughout their side this season, but things are starting to look a lot better for Marcelo Bielsa.

As we gear up for the visit of the Bees, we take a look at all of the latest team news ahead of Sunday’s kick-off

Patrick Bamford

A massive boost for Leeds up first on the list is the potential return of Patrick Bamford.

An ankle injury back in September has kept him out of action for nine games, but he returned to action for the under-23s at the start of this week against Man City.

Having completed 90 minutes without any setbacks, Bielsa has confirmed that the number nine is in-line to be back in the squad for this weekend.

Whether or not he plays remains to be seen, given his lack of match sharpness.

Luke Ayling

The other major boost to the squad this week has been Ayling.

The right-back is a big miss to the side when he’s not available and he’s been out for as long as Bamford and looks to be on the same timescale of his return after featuring in the same under-23s match.

Like the striker, Ayling might see this game as too close to make a long-awaited start, but the fact he’s available is huge.

Robin Koch

The German international has done well to keep fans in the loop when it’s come to his injury comeback, after having to undergo a second surgical procedure since joining from Freiburg.

He’s been on the grass in the last week or so and is edging closer to being back in contention.

There was no word on when we expect to see him back, but under-23s minutes could be looming for him.

Jamie Shackleton

A minor injury for SHackleto has kept him out of the starting lineup recently and made a comeback off the bench against Brighton.

He was unused in the win over Palace and used under-23s action this week to get more minutes in the tank after looking off the pace at the AMEX.

Shackleton is likely to remain on the bench this weekend but is getting closer to being back up to full speed.

Joe Gelhardt

Gelhardt started for the under-23s in their defeat to Leicester City on Friday night and scored a fine goal to give the Whites the lead.

However, he was taken off as a precaution thanks to a dead leg, with Mark Jackson outlining that the setback is not a major one.

Pascal Struijk

Not that anyone is that surprised, but Struijk has been impressive of late even when asked to move across to left-back.

He started the game very well against Palace in midweek but couldn’t make it past half-time as a problem with his hip meant he was unable to continue.

Bielsa stated that he believes the young defender is likely to be available tomorrow.

Suspensions

When it comes to suspensions, Leeds have two on the verge of picking up a one-match ban for an accumulation of five yellow cards.

Both Liam Cooper and Rodrigo sit on four yellows so far, with one more seeing them banned.

The cut-off for this ban is matchweek 19, the Boxing Day clash against Liverpool.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.