Worried looks, big decisions and a major Elland Road change for Leeds United and Jesse Marsch

Even in the press room after the game, following Jesse Marsch's press conference, faces betrayed concern over just how much trouble the American and his side could find themselves in.

A mess of a performance, a 3-0 defeat and a shell shocked Marsch's unconvincing attempt to remain optimistic combined for a distinct impression of peril. Any positivity was always going to ring hollow in the face of such a dismal performance and a record of six straight defeats - only two of which were anything to do with Marsch.

The American had the look of a man whose eyes had been fully opened to the size of a task to which he had committed.

Few, on that night, would have wagered much at all on him completing it.

And yet, six months later, here come Aston Villa again for a Premier League fixture only made possible by Marsch and Leeds' great escape last season.

The two sides have met since, out in Australia in a misnomer of a friendly, but pre-season is rarely a time in which a manager totally convinces, or otherwise, fans and critics.

What the summer does allow a club and its coach to do is put distance between them and whatever occured in the latter stages of the previous campaign, and recruitment that is generally accepted to have strengthened the Leeds squad in a sensible way helped do that for Leeds.

Since they butted heads with Villa Down Under, the summer signings have transitioned from potentially exciting additions to players making genuinely promising starts to Premier League life. Marsch has turned an uncertain crowd in his favour and shown his style of football to be better and easier on the eye than what had to be done to secure survival.

And half a year on from that dreadful night when the Villains triumphed, he and his merry men have an opportunity to put an even more convincing spin on his tenure.

It's difficult to know what to expect this time round, from Leeds or their visitors, with respective inconsistent records reading won two, drawn two, lost two and won two, drawn one, lost four.

What is almost certain, though, is that Elland Road will be at its bear-pit best after almost five fixture-less weeks, because these sides do not often play nicely.

Marsch himself will have a front row seat, quite literally, for the atmosphere thanks to his one-match touchline ban, and will do his coaching from the West Stand.

His removal from pitch-level proceedings may serve to calm things, a little, although René Marić and Mark Jackson will ensure the Whites' point of view is adequately articulated in the technical area, but it is far more likely that Marsch's biggest impact on this game will be made before it takes place.

For almost the first time in his tenure at Leeds, the head coach has the luxury of selection decisions, plural, brought about chiefly by returns to fitness but also international involvement.

At centre-half, Diego Llorente's place in the team looks under threat after a ball-playing and decision-making performance at Brighton that visibly irked his manager, and that disastrous outing at Brentford.

Club captain Liam Cooper came through 90 minutes against Southampton Under 21s and, at long last, will be knocking on Marsch's door and looking for Premier League action.

Any game against Villa is a game that calls for leadership and steadiness, which Cooper has brought to the table in spaces since promotion.

At left-back, Junior Firpo could come back in, although Pascal Struijk has done little to warrant being dropped and took a solid grasp of the shirt in the early weeks of the campaign.

At right-back, Luke Ayling is breathing down the neck of Rasmus Kristensen, who by all accounts responded in style this week with a fine display against France in the colours of Denmark and might just have done enough to regain his place.

At the other end of the pitch Marsch also has some calls to make. The hope was that Rodrigo would be fit again after the international break, but so too is Patrick Bamford, who looked sharp in his 21s appearance before club football was paused.

And then there's Joe Gelhardt, or even Willy Gnonto, who played up top for Italy against Hungary in the Nations League.

When it's Villa and when there's needle, a bit of physical presence and the ability to handle a bit of needle goes a long way and that's where Bamford has previous and form. In the summer he was more than happy to engage in a tit-for-tat battle with Diego Carlos and he gave Tyrone Mings more than he could handle two years ago.

It would be harsh, in the extreme, for either Tyler Adams or Marc Roca to come out of the side after such good starts to life at Leeds, and the American international in particular should have the engine and the physicality to combat John McGinn in the middle.

Likewise, Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra and Jack Harrison can all be considered safe bets for inclusion in the starting line-up.

The smart money is on a tight game and one that will demand the best of Marsch, in decisions and tactics, and his players, in performance.

A win would go some way to convincing that any early season success was not a false dawn. A convincing performance will keep Elland Road brows unfurrowed and faces smiling.