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Phil Hay outlines Marcelo Bielsa selection headache as Leeds United v Crystal Palace looms

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Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa may make changes to his starting lineup tonight against Crystal Palace with some players’ positions under threat.

Leeds haven’t been in great form so far but have cause for optimism with key first-team figures returning from injury very soon.

Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling, and Robin Koch are all close to a comeback while Junior Firpo made his return to the starting lineup against Brighton – albeit catastrophically.

Firpo’s first-half nightmare at the AMEX won’t have been what Bielsa wanted to see as he came back into the lineup, being torn apart by the pace of Tariq Lamptey.

Stuart Dallas did well to steady Leeds’ left channel after the interval and it could be something Bielsa tinkers with as Crystal Palace come to Elland Road.

Not only that but Tyler Roberts’ cameo will have been something the Argentine will have liked to see, knowing he can do at least something from the bench when we’re up against it.

There are options there for Leeds, it’s just a case of finding the best setup to get the most out of them.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has shared the changes he believes we could see as Leeds face the Eagles, via a pre-match fan Q&A:

“I would put Struijk at LB. He’s done really well there and looks like a much safer pair of hands than Firpo at the moment (although in Firpo’s defence, it’s been very hard for him to settle or get on a roll this season).

I would also go Gelhardt up front and James on the left.”

I would be playing Struijk there too, it’s just a case of who Palace are lining up with on their right-wing.

Michael Olise would cause problems to whoever we play at left-back, but having Struijk there would be a good choice given his strength in one-v-one situations.

I’m more concerned about how we’re going to play in attack because we need to have a lot more influence at that end of the pitch than we did against Brighton.

Either way, it’s a winnable game, but we need to get more out of this group than we did on Saturday.

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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.