Three aspects of Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur Leeds United must look out for

How do you begin to summarise a season like the one Tottenham Hotspur are having?

Only a couple of weeks ago, they found themselves top of the Premier League with pundits questioning whether or not anyone could beat them. A few draws and losses later and they find themselves outside the Champions League spots.

With a manager like Jose Mourinho, you’re always going to find yourself being talked about. But this season, the age-old discussions are raging on: is there still a place for Mourinho’s reactive football in the modern game?

Bringing him together with that other object of media scrutiny, Marcelo Bielsa, this game is destined to be a narrative generator one way or the other.

Here are three aspects of Mourinho’s system to look out for on Saturday:

1. Out of Mourinho’s Comfort Zone?

Despite the fact that Jose Mourinho likes to control game state by getting an early goal and defending his lead, it is likely that the game on Saturday will belie all his attempts to command the game.

Although Leeds United dominate possession in most of their games, they do this less by complete dominance of the ball and more by their aggressive pressing off the ball, forcing the opposition into turnovers.

Against Spurs, this could force the game into an open “basketball-style” affair with possession switching backwards and forwards.

2. Rapid Counterattack

In a strange way, though, this back-and-forth style could suit Mourinho’s Spurs in the same way it suited Frank Lampard’s Chelsea and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United.

Where Chelsea and Manchester United thrived off player mismatches in Leeds’ man-marking system, Spurs will likely benefit through their attacking trio of Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

There are few better ball-resistant players in the world than Ndombele, few better strikers who can drop deep and help in build-up than Kane and few more deadly finishers than Son. Leeds will have their work cut out on Saturday, trying to prevent the rapid counterattacks that Spurs send their way.

3. Game State

In recent weeks, Spurs have dropped points from winning positions by attacking early and then looking to protect single-goal leads.

Should they approach the Leeds game in the same way, it could be the case that Bielsa’s side are faced with the task of breaking down a well-organised low block.

If this is the case, the performances of Leeds’ creative players - Rodrigo, Raphinha and Pablo Hernandez - will be key.

Jon Mackenzie runs All Stats Aren’t We, a Leeds United media channel that focuses on the tactical and statistical aspects of the game.