Marcelo Bielsa and Dean Smith await fifth meeting of eventful series as Leeds United host Aston Villa

In doing so, Smith will become one of only four English-based managers that Bielsa has faced five times in addition to Frank Lampard, Alex Neil and José Mourinho whom Bielsa faced four times with Athletic Bilbao against Real Madrid.

Bielsa also approaches his fifth battle against Smith having never lost against the 49-year-old Villa boss who is seeking his first victory against the Whites head coach.

The two bosses met for the first time back in October 2018 when Smith was in charge of Brentford.

United and Brentford shared a 1-1 draw in the Championship clash between the Whites and Bees at Elland Road which proved Smith's final game in charge of the London side before leaving for then fellow Championship side Aston Villa.

In a game in which Luke Ayling was sent off for a second booking in second half stoppage time, Pontus Jansson equalised with an 88th-minute header following Neal Maupay's hotly-disputed penalty two minutes after the hour.

The penalty was awarded for Bailey Peacock-Farrell's alleged 'foul' on Ollie Watkins who would eventually then follow Smith to new club Villa who have provided the manager's last three meetings against Leeds.

All three have been dramatic as United fought back from being 2-0 down to win an unforgettable 3-2 thriller in the Championship clash of December 2018 thanks to Kemar Roofe's 95th-minute winner.

The two sides then shared a 1-1 draw in a dead rubber at Elland Road in April 2019 which proved anything but a dead rubber as Mateusz Klich sparked fury when netting the Whites opener with Jonathan Kodjia down injured.

Bielsa then ordered Leeds to allow Villa a walked in equaliser which Jansson still tried his best to prevent in a game in which Villa's Anwar El Ghazi was sent off.

As Villa went up to the Premier League in the play-offs, Bielsa and Smith then had a year apart in the 2019-20 campaign but Leeds then joined Villa in the Premier League one year later as Championship champions.

There were more fireworks as the two sides met in a first Premier League clash between the two sides for 16 years at Villa Park in October as the fireworks came from United's stunning performance.

A Patrick Bamford treble sealed Leeds a 3-0 victory making it two wins and two draws for Bielsa against Smith and an aggregate score of 8-4 to the Whites and 2-0 to Bielsa in addition to two draws.

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/yorkshire-evening-post-launch-leeds-united-only-digital-subscription-ahead-premier-league-campaign-2967964

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Thank you Laura Collins