Opinion

View from FA5: Leeds United’s pending fitness boost ahead of Sheffield United could see rare moment for Marcelo Bielsa

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Leeds United have an international break between the Fulham victory and their next game against Sheffield United at the start of April, with ample time there to reflect on some great progression.

There have been a lot of complaints from managers this season about injuries and the schedules causing them, but Marcelo Bielsa has remained tight-lipped despite having it worse than most.

The Argentine operates with a thin squad as it is, without having to contend with key players being stuck on the treatment table every week.

New additions were needed in the summer but not at the risk of upsetting the dressing room morale or undermining the fine work of those that helped get Leeds back into the top flight.

Overtaking short-sighted rivals

Early in the season, Leeds travelled to Bramall Lane looking to right the wrongs of the failed 2018/19 promotion push.

In that process of coming up against the Blades, Leeds were facing off against a side that looked immense last season without making any drastic changes to their starting lineup, a fitting matchup and benchmark for Leeds’ progress up to this point.

The ‘muppet’ himself, Patrick Bamford, nodded home late on to give Leeds a hard-earned 1-0 win against a side not many expected to have the disastrous season they have.

Robin Koch and Rodrigo featured that game and showed their quality at both ends of the pitch, with the German stopping anything the hosts tried to build while Rodrigo’s spark off the bench triggered a change in the game’s momentum.

It seemed a massive win at the time with Leeds proving they could go toe-to-toe with a side many expected big things for, but the progression (or lack thereof) of both teams since serves as an even bigger reminder of the successes of Bielsa’s side.

Pushing on and not looking back

Since then, Leeds have added the sensational Raphinha and classy Diego Llorente to the mix and look much closer to a complete Premier League side.

Impressive results have followed away to top six contenders such as Leicester City, Everton and Aston Villa, while we have also won nine of 13 games against sides in the bottom half so far.

A win against Fulham has distanced the Whites completely from the relegation battle and put them into the question around being the ‘best of the rest’.

In spite of all this, we’re yet to see all of Leeds’ fresh faces from the summer window play together.

Diego Llorente looks like he’s finally nailed down his starting berth along with Raphinha shining every time he touches the ball.

Robin Koch and Rodrigo are on the comeback trail and with an international break about to get underway, there’s every chance Leeds could have a fully-fit side for the home clash against Paul Heckingbottom’s Blades on the 3rd April.

We’re going to face the same issues that Sheffield United’s unique setup has always presented; but with far more quality to combat it,  we should be looking to showcase how far we’ve come since last September.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.