Steven Gerrard has claimed that it’s ‘not fair’ to judge Leeds United ‘too strongly’ this season because of the injuries they have suffered, as he told his Aston Villa press conference.
The Aston Villa boss added that Leeds have ‘really talented’ and ‘dangerous’ players in their ranks and he has ‘enjoyed’ watching them from afar.
Leeds will travel down to Villa Park on Wednesday night for a mouthwatering Premier League showdown.
Over the years, both teams have been involved in some dramatic games, from uncontested goals being awarded to last-minute winners.
Now it’s Gerrard’s time to face Marcelo Bielsa in the dugout and he raved about his team.
“My opinion on Leeds is, as a team and as a squad, they’ve got really talented players, really dangerous players,” said Gerrard.
“They haven’t had the best of luck in terms of injuries, so it’s not fair to judge them too strongly.
“I’ve only focussed on Leeds over the last few weeks, as I was in Scotland up until November, but from the outside, I’ve always enjoyed watching Leeds. I think they’re a very exciting team.
“They’re getting players returning from injury, and I’m sure once they get Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford back, it wouldn’t surprise me if they find a higher level of consistency.”
Leeds will be without three of their key players tomorrow – Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper.
Bamford has been out the longest and has only played one game since September, as there seems to be no end to his foot injury.
This clearly provides Villa with an advantage, but at the end of the day, this is Leeds United.
As they proved away at West Ham, no matter how inexperienced, young or injury-ravaged their squad is, they can still turn up and do the business.
Added with that, the last time Leeds played at Villa Park they won 3-0, the last time they played in front of a packed crowd in the Midlands, they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2, so expect more drama.
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