'They've lit the Premier League up' - Aston Villa boss Dean Smith hails huge impact of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith isn't sure any other manager could've had the impact on Leeds United like Marcelo Bielsa.

The Whites head coach is set to welcome Villa to Elland Road in Premier League action on Saturday night for a clash under the lights in West Yorkshire.

Leeds defeated the visitors 3-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, with Patrick Bamford bagging a first top flight hat-trick of his career in the Midlands.

Bielsa's men sit one point behind eighth-placed Villa in 10th spot in the standings ahead of kick-off and are enjoying a strong campaign after promotion last summer.

Leeds have impressed onlookers with their commitment to attacking football this term, earning plaudits as a newly-promoted outfit amongst England's elite.

United have gone from midtable in the Championship to Premier League new boys with much the same squad due to injuries to key signings.

Smith - who guided Villa to promotion to the top flight via the play-offs in 2019 - says the turnaround at Leeds has been impressive to watch from afar.

“They’re a team that I love to watch play, they are very unique and they have come into the Premier League and lit it up, in terms of how they’ve played," Smith told reporters.

"I have an awful lot of respect for the work that Marcelo Bielsa has done. I’m not sure that another manager could’ve gone into Leeds and made the impact that he’s had on them.

“He’s respected throughout football and a very humble man.

"I've seen some of those [Leeds] players with a number of other managers in the Championship and they weren't getting to the physical levels that they were getting now. That's a credit to the coaching staff."

Asked if he saw similarities between the two clubs, he said: "I think there are a lot of similarities between the two teams.

"We got to the Premier League a season earlier and had our injury problems last year.

"Leeds have hit the ground running and found that it is a real tough league and you can be inconsistent in this league. They've done fantastically well and there's similarities in how we play."