Marcelo Bielsa reveals defensive problems ahead of Newcastle United clash

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has revealed that Diego Llorente, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk will all be absent for Friday night's Premier League clash with Newcastle United.

The Whites will be unable to call upon either Llorente or Koch through injury, with the former picking up another problem during the 3-0 defeat at Liverpool last time out.

Struijk, meanwhile, has had his three-match suspension upheld after receiving a red card for a challenge on Liverpool's Harvey Elliott during their contest at Elland Road.

As a result, Liam Cooper is the only available senior central defender, but Bielsa is confident that his team will be able to cope with the situation against the Magpies.

"Of the four centre-backs that we have, we are not able to count on Diego [Llorente], Pascal [Struijk] or [Robin] Koch but we're in conditions to resolve the issue," Bielsa told reporters.

Leeds are currently 17th in the Premier League table, having picked up just two points from their opening four matches of the 2021-22 campaign.