Tony Mowbray piles pressure on Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United ahead of Blackburn Rovers clash

Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has piled the pressure on Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa ahead of this weekend's showdown.

The Whites welcome Mowbray's side to LS11 on Saturday afternoon in the Championship ahead of the final international break of the year.

Blackburn ended a six-game winless run last weekend with a late turnaround against Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park while Leeds made it four games unbeaten themselves with a win over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road.

The 55-year-old, though, believes that the hosts are under pressure to deliver despite a run of form which has left his side 16th in the standings.

“Leeds are top of the table, they’re a very high energy team, they’re determined," Mowbray said.

"They have pressure on them at home and away, playing in front of 30,000 supporters at Elland Road.

"It’s always a difficult job, as we found out there last year, losing in the last few minutes.

“We know we can go there, compete and create chances ourselves, so let’s give it our best shot, be positive and see if we can cause them some problems.

“There’s nothing to fear. They’re a good, athletic team who are positive and do that exceptionally well. They’re well coached by Bielsa, who’s managed at World Cups.

“They have good players and a huge fanbase. Put that all together and you’ve got a chance. But we’ll throw punches back and see if we can give them a bloody nose."

United sit third in the Championship table level on points with Preston North End and just two behind early pacesetters West Bromwich Albion ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures.

Asked about United’s promotion hopes this term, Mowbray said: "They have the same ambition as last season and they’re league position suggests that they’re not far away from the team they were last term.

“They have the same way of playing despite losing the likes of Jansson and Roofe to Brentford and Anderlecht.

“It’s a big challenge for us but it’s one that we’re all really looking forward to.

“There’s no Manchester City's of Liverpools in this league, so we’ll go there and hopefully come out the right side of what I expect to be a tight match."