Jesse Marsch unable to resolve Marcelo Bielsa's dangerous Leeds United problem yet

Goals win games and right now Leeds United are in desperate need of both.

Meanwhile, Burnley managed to leapfrog Leeds last weekend with a late comeback against Watford, meaning the Clarets are level on 34 points but with a favourable goal difference.

There is little doubt Leeds are in a fight for their lives at the bottom of the table, aiming to avoid an unwanted return to the second tier.

Given how troublesome promotion proved to be, dropping back into the Championship would be nothing short of a disaster for the Whites, with all of Marcelo Bielsa's work to re-establish the club as a top-flight entity up in smoke.

Since January 1, 2022, Leeds United have failed to score in nine of their seventeen matches - a worrying trend heading into the final four matches of the season.

This would be less of a concern if Leeds had been airtight at the other end of the pitch, but this season the Whites have conceded more goals than any other Premier League team.

Leeds haven't found the net against West Ham United, Newcastle United, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in 2022 - four of which were games presided over by new boss Marsch.

Marcelo Bielsa's sacking followed two matches in which Leeds sparred with Liverpool and Spurs, but could not land a blow as the defence shipped ten goals without reply over 180 minutes.

More recently, Leeds have gone two games without scoring against Palace and spurned Champions League semi-finalists Man City, although the team did at least earn a point in south London versus Patrick Vieira's side.

Leeds played 21 matches this season before the turn of the year, failing to score in six. By comparison, Marsch's side have failed to score in four of the eight games he has taken charge of.

It must also be stressed that Leeds have found the net three times in the same game on two separate occasions under Marsch, which they had not achieved prior to the American's arrival.

Entering into a crucial period of the season, Leeds need to show greater attacking aggression to offset Burnley's apparent resurrection and Everton's recent upturn in home form.

That is not to suggest Leeds throw caution to the wind, rather a solution must be found to the Whites' profligacy in front of goal.

The obvious answer to Leeds' woes is the return of Patrick Bamford which is a possibility for the final few games of the season, but there is no guarantee of his fitness.

Marsch had persisted with Daniel James in an unnatural centre-forward role until last weekend when Rodrigo was deployed as the spearhead of Leeds' attack.

Neither player has seemed a snug fit for the No. 9 role, while Joe Gelhardt has largely been restricted to cameo substitute appearances.

Versus Man City, the youngster played just shy of 30 minutes but ended the match with more shots than any of his teammates.

Gelhardt's two attempts - albeit in the final throes of the game - accounted for nearly half of Leeds' Expected Goals tally against the Premier League champions, according to data provider InfoGol.

The 20-year-old remains a solution for Marsch, as does fellow youngster Sam Greenwood, but an inability to find the back of the net in Leeds' remaining Premier League fixtures would endanger the club's top flight status.