Marcelo Bielsa assesses demands of Leeds United's final nine games in search of Premier League football

MARCELO BIELSA hopes Leeds United will benefit from the Championship's three-month break but admits his side's final nine games are an unprecedented step into the unknown.
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Championship front-runners Leeds will finally resume their promotion push with Sunday's 12 noon kick-off at Cardiff City behind closed doors after 105 days without a game in the country's battle against coronavirus.

United will now take in their final nine games within the space of 32 days and Leeds will already be without Pablo Hernandez, Jean-Kevin Augustin and Adam Forshaw for Sunday's clash in South Wales with the suspended Kiko Casilla another absentee.

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But Bielsa is hoping that having 15-weeks without a game will help "recuperate fatigue" though the Whites head coach admits it is very hard to predict quite what will happen in such unusual times.

READY: Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.READY: Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.
READY: Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.

Leeds approach the return to competition one point ahead of second-placed West Brom and seven points clear of third-placed Fulham who will visit Leeds in their second game back next Saturday.

"For the first match and the second match we have a complete week and after we have seven matches playing twice a week," said Bielsa.

"All of us know that we could play twice a week and the risk of injury increases.

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"But also we have had a period of three months without competition and that is a way where we can think that it will recuperate fatigue that happens normally at the end of a competition.

"I have to say that the preparations of the team were not as normal as ever.

"So we have to wait to see what happens because this is not a normal situation, we've never experienced it before."

After taking just ten points from 11 games throughout December, January and February, Bielsa's side bounced back in style by winning five league games in succession before the English football season was called to a halt.

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United's last five victories also came without conceding a goal.

Assessing how Leeds would go about restoring that momentum with the return of football, Bielsa reasoned: "The objective is always trying to score and not allowing the opponent to score.

"In some moments you can get this and others you cannot.

"So this work we've done, even if we had a long period working physically and after one month with tactical and technical work it is not like a normal pre-season.

"For two reasons, we don't have friendlies and you play the last nine matches.

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"It is the period where you define whether you get the objective of the competition or not.

"So it is not the same as thinking in the first match you have 46 matches. This is not a problem for us.

"This is a situation everyone has to face without exception."

The Championship will return with Saturday's lunch-time kick-off between Fulham and fourth-placed Brentford at Craven Cottage in which the Cottagers could close the gap to West Brom and Leeds.

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The Baggies then take on Birmingham City at The Hawthorns in a Saturday 3pm kick-off.

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