Marcelo Bielsa's response to how Leeds United plan to halt Manchester United's attack

Marcelo Bielsa says Leeds United will stick to their footballing principles in a bid to deal with the attacking threat of Manchester United.

The Whites travel to Old Trafford this afternoon to take on their arch rivals in the top flight for the first time in nearly 17 years.

Bielsa masterminded the Elland Road club's return to the Premier League in the summer at the second time of asking with his outfit earning promotion as Championship title winners.

United's adjustment to the top flight so far has seen them collect 17 points from their opening 13 games of the campaign amid the busy festive period.

Leeds have dominated possession statistics much like in the second division but have struggled to contain pace on counter-attacks and height at dead ball situations.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side boast an attacking trio of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood, which has seen them utilise their pace with teams who look to dominate the ball.

The Whites boss was quizzed over how he intended to neutralise the threat of the hosts with that in mind, and in a lengthy answer explained that his side will continue to focus on their own style of play.

"When both teams want to play on the counter attack, there isn't a game," Bielsa explained.

"To play on the counter attack you have to allow the opposition the ball and wait in your own half. There are two options, to play or not to play.

"When a team plays on the counter attack, there are two things that are indispensable - the team you're facing is positioned in an attacking sense and that they lose the ball as a product of them trying to play.

"If both teams do the same it's a game that's being played not to play. Sometimes when a team is judged as naive, we would have to look and see what you would call to change your style so that the strengths of the other team are not increased.

"We don't ignore the height of some of their players or the quality of their takers, we also know how their strikers take advantage of their space and how they can be played in. You just have to see the game from yesterday and you can verify this in half an hour.

"But we will try to do, with our resources, without changing our style, prevent them from... counter attack and their aerial ability.

"There is a way to avoid all this, by playing a neutral game, us playing in our own half so there is no counter attack. But we're not prepared to do this. We're prepared to prevent the counter attack but in a much more risky way, while we try to play our game.

"When you analyse the behaviours of a team, you have to see the type of resources they use and the ones they don't.

"The link between they do and what they don't do and see all of this, because the game has a certain beauty. It's not only about winning, it's the way you win also.

"Perhaps you'll say to me the most important thing is winning, this is just another point of view."

Asked about Red Devils playmaker Bruno Fernandes and the threat he poses, he said: "I think your question would still have a lot of sense if you substituted his name and put one of many others.

"Of course for every game the managers know the strengths of every team and have plans to try and neutralise them. Sometimes they manage it and sometimes they don't."