Marcelo Bielsa explains why Leeds United opted against any friendlies ahead of Championship restart

Leeds United's Championship campaign resumes this weekend.
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Marcelo Bielsa says Leeds United preferred to keep their preparations in-house ahead of this weekend's big Championship restart.

The Whites have undergone a three-week mini pre-season at Thorp Arch under their head coach ahead of a return to match action against Cardiff City on Sunday lunchtime.

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The race for promotion to the Premier League will resume this weekend following a three month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. (Getty)Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. (Getty)
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. (Getty)

Bielsa's side sit top of the division and are in pole position with nine games to go to end a 16-year absence from top flight competition.

United's squad have been subject to gruelling 'murderball' sessions and have completed a number of inter-squad friendlies at the club's training ground amidst the build-up.

A number of Championship rivals up and down the country, though, have opted to organise games with fellow teams as part of their preparations.

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This weekend's opponents Cardiff are one of those, as Neil Harris' side faced south Wales rivals Swansea City last week with the both teams splitting their squads across two games.

Leeds, though, decided against organising any external fixtures and Bielsa explained his decision ahead of the clash with the Bluebirds.

"We had three players per position so we had three teams," Bielsa said.

"Leeds allowed us to do a lot of football training which was very, very useful for us.

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"We think that in this way, it was going to be enough for us. We had preferred to continue with this preparation.

"We could have maybe played a friendly match but when you organise something there are some logistical difficulties. We prefer to continue in this way."

Asked how ready his side were for this weekend's restart, he said: "We think well. Players have made a big effort so far.

"They work very responsibly but the football we are going to play is not the same as before. For this reason it is very important to wait for the matches to be played to analyse our performance."