The Yorkshire Yanks Leeds United host Wolves at Elland Road on Saturday, as Jesse Marsch kicks off his first full Premier League season as a manager.
After escaping relegation on the final day of last season, the main feeling around Leeds this summer has been relief. Then they sold star duo Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips and there is a little concern around Elland Road that they may be in a relegation battle once again. Jesse Marsch has spent plenty of money, including on USMNT stars Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams, and he will need a positive start to prove he’s the right man for the job.
As for Wolves, not much has changed with them. Bruno Lage’s side threatened to qualify for Europe for most of last season but they nosedived badly at the end of the campaign and the style of football wasn’t exactly electric. Lage needs a fast start to this campaign to rebuild some momentum.
Below is everything you need ahead of Leeds vs Wolves on Saturday.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
How to watch Leeds vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, Saturday
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines
Even though he arrived for the final months of last season and kept Leeds up, the jury is still out for most Leeds fans on Jesse Marsch. It was always going to be tough to replace the legendary Marcelo Bielsa but Marsch has the chance to reshape Leeds’ approach and we’ve seen that during preseason. They are now more solid with a 4-2-3-1 system and the balance seems better, at least defensively. Seeing how Leeds cope without Raphinha (sold to Barcelona) and Phillips (sold to Man City) is going to be intriguing because they were two players who helped carry Leeds over the line last season.
Wolves’ issue remains scoring goals. Defensively they are solid but with Raul Jimenez missing for the first month of the season due to injury, who is going to step up to the plate? Bruno Lage’s side can keep the ball extremely well and in Jose Sa they have one of the best goalkeepers outside the top six in the Premier League. Their ambitions have changed, though, and a lack of spending this summer shows that European aspirations aren’t realistic for Wolves and being steady in midtable is their main aim.
Leeds team news, injuries, lineup
Marsch has a lot of injury issues to deal with as Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo, Adam Forshaw and Luis Sinisterra out, plus Dan James is suspended and Liam Cooper is also out. But with Patrick Bamford back fit and Aaronson and Adams playing well in preseason, Leeds have plenty of options and all three of those aforementioned players start.
📋 Your #LUFC Starting XI... pic.twitter.com/fAgLZY2ASp
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 6, 2022
Wolves team news, injuries, lineup
Raul Jimenez is out until September after suffering a knee injury in preseason, which is a huge blow. Chiquinho is also out, while Adama Traore, Nelson Semedo are both missing too. Conor Coady is on the bench.
🇮🇪 Collins makes his debut.
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 6, 2022
© Neves takes the armband.
Our first line-up of the 2022/23 @premierleague season! pic.twitter.com/AtnO4nAQAP
