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Marcelo Bielsa must reinstate Kalvin Phillips to the starting XI if Leeds are to stand any chance of stopping Aston Villa’s star man Jack Grealish on Sunday.

The Yorkshire outfit realistically need to beat Villa at Elland Road if they want to take the automatic promotion race to the final day, and to do that they need to end the visitors’ 10-game winning streak.

Grealish’s threat

The English midfielder is one of the most dangerous attacking threats for any defensive line to come up against in the Championship.

The Villa man’s greatest threat comes from his dribbling ability and his vision. Grealish can create space for himself and find a killer pass to split even the most excellent of rearguards in the division.

There aren’t many players that could successfully keep tabs on him for a full 90 minutes, but luckily for Bielsa he has the perfect foil for the 23-year-old’s trickery.

Phillips must return

If Leeds are to stand any chance of stopping the Midlands club’s talisman they must call upon Phillips to return to the heart of the midfield.

Bielsa dropped him in favour of Adam Forshaw for the game against Brentford on Monday, but now the Argentine must bring him straight back into the fold.

Leeds sorely missed the destructive work that the 23-year-old does just in front of the backline during the game at Griffin Park, and they must utilise attributes that Phillips possesses have to if Leeds are to keep Grealish quiet.

He has the stamina and tactical awareness to close the Villa star down whenever he’s on the ball and recover possession before the 23-year-old can turn it into anything more dangerous. Leeds’ anchor man has been brilliant when doing the Whites’ defensive dirty work this season, breaking up play and getting a foot in.

To keep their promotion hopes alive Bielsa must give Phillips the specific task of keeping Grealish out of the game.