Adam Forshaw and new faces expected in Leeds United Under 23s line-up against 'challenging' Crystal Palace

Marcelo Bielsa is not thought to have released the likes of Kalvin Phillips or Diego Llorente to Mark Jackson's squad for the trip to the Eagles, who also won promotion last season.

Leeds picked up the PL2 Division Two title, while Crystal Palace won the play-offs.

Forshaw made his long-awaited return from an injury sustained in September 2019 late last season with the 23s and the comeback trail has continued with Jackson's side this summer. On Saturday the midfielder was included in a first team squad for the first time in almost 23 months, albeit without coming off the bench in the 5-1 defeat at Manchester United.

Tonight will mark the latest step in Forshaw's battle to make a full recovery to fitness and competitive football.

Under 23s head coach Jackson feels he has a strong squad to select from for the opener.

“Pre-season is always a tough time for the players,” Jackson said.

“It's a time for getting fitness in, and in that respect we’ve been successful. It’s an important time to work getting the fitness in and avoiding any injuries.

“We’ve been fairly lucky in that respect, just about everyone has come through alright so we feel we’re in a good position to go into the first game of the season. The staff and boys are really looking forward to it."

Jackson's squad has been strengthened this summer with additions like Amari Miller from Birmingham City and Lewis Bate from Chelsea and tonight's game could also feature Kristoffer Klaesson, the club's new number two goalkeeper.

Fans got their first look at the transfer window additions during what Jackson saw as a satisfactory pre-season.

He said: “We’ve had a mixed bag. We’ve played Ajax, Fleetwood, Guiseley and Man City so the variation of the games has been really good.

“What we tried to do is review the games with the players, address any issues and go into the next games in a better position. We feel like it went okay and we are where we want to be, now we’re looking forward to the season beginning."

The boss anticipates a difficult game tonight, having beaten Palace 4-1 at home and lost 2-0 away last season.

“We played against Palace last year, so it is the two teams who have gone up,” he said.

“We had two challenging games against them last year so I expect the same again.

“What we’ll try to do is focus on ourselves, we obviously look at the opponents but ultimately it is about how we prepare, and having our players ready to play the way we want to play. We want to put our style on the opposition, we all know what that style is and we want to continue with that high intensity.”

Jackson's youngsters will be hoping to catch Bielsa's eye, with a Carabao Cup clash against Crewe scheduled to take place at Elland Road next Tuesday.