Leeds United reporter Joe Donnohue has claimed that he expects to see Raphinha start for them tonight.
Despite being an incredibly important player to the team by being their top scorer this season and leading them in a number of categories such as shots, key passes and dribbles per game (via WhoScored), the Brazilian has been in and out of the side recently.
He was dragged off at half time in their game against Everton – a decision that led boss Marcelo Bielsa to come out and explain his reasoning – and started on the bench against Manchester United, coming on at half time and managing to grab an equaliser before the side went on to lose the game 4-2.
However, speaking on the Liverpool-focused Blood Red podcast ahead of their game tonight, Donnohue claimed that things would return to normal for the 25-year-old at Anfield and that he would be back in the starting XI, stating that he might have a point to prove following his recent toing and froing when it comes to the team.
He said: “The last time Leeds turned up to Anfield, Raphinha wasn’t a Leeds player, so hopefully we’ll get him from the start. He was dropped to the bench, for the first half anyway, against Man United at the weekend, but we expect him to come back straight into the XI.
“I think if you want him to prove a point, then there’s probably no better stage than Anfield to do it because of him being left out of the starting XI at the weekend, coming on, scoring within eight or nine minutes of him being on the pitch.”
TIF Thoughts on Joe Donnohue’s comments about Raphinha and Leeds United…
Do you expect Raphinha to be at Leeds next season?
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Given the impact that Raphinha showed against Manchester United – not only scoring, but also completing 73% of his passes, making one key pass and winning two tackles (via WhoScored) – it would make sense for Marcelo Bielsa to put him back into the side for the game against Liverpool, as he was able to show just how important he is to this Leeds United side.
Given who they are going up against in a team like Liverpool who are fighting for the title, they are going to need all the help they can get if they are to pick up a result to help push themselves away from the bottom of the table.
And if Donnohue is right about Raphinha having a point to prove, then it might well end up providing him with a little bit more motivation to make sure that he isn’t dropped again – which might see him playing a key role in how the game plays out.
In other news: Exciting: Leeds fans will be purring as footage of loanee emerges