Kalvin Phillips will return to Leeds United's starting XI for Monday night's trip to Crystal Palace. 

The lowdown

Leeds travel to Selhurst Park for the 20.00 kick-off looking to make it four wins in five matches.

They weren't in action last weekend, with their game against Chelsea postponed due to the Blues' FA Cup semi-final commitments.

The Whites are still in need of points to ensure survival after 18th-place Burnley beat Southampton on Thursday night to close the gap to five.

£38,000-per-week midfielder Phillips hasn't started a Premier League match since the 2-2 draw with Brentford way back at the start of December.

After a four-month spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, he returned for the final 24 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Southampton on 2 April and got another 31 minutes under his belt as Leeds beat Watford 3-0 last time out.

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The latest

Leeds Live writer Beren Cross reported on Saturday morning from Jesse Marsch's press conference at Thorp Arch that Phillips is 'confirmed to start' already.

The verdict

Phillips has demonstrated in his two recent substitute cameos that he's ready to return.

At Vicarage Road, he won two of the three ground duels he contested after coming on, regaining possession three times, and completed nine out of 12 passes (via SofaScore).

You wonder if Leeds would have been able to avoid relegation trouble entirely had Phillips, England's 2021 Player of the Year, been fit for the whole campaign.

In even better news for Marsch, two of his forward options are now on the comeback trail. Patrick Bamford is due to be back on the grass next week, while Tyler Roberts is 'getting close' to a return.

In other news, Leeds are targeting this Spurs ace.