‘From now on…’ – Bielsa makes Leeds team selection admission after West Ham loss
Marcelo Bielsa has claimed that he won’t name his Leeds United team in advance again after he revealed who would line up against West Ham two days in advance.
The Hammers won 2-1 when they took on Leeds last Friday and some were left wondering if Bielsa’s decision to name his team early had an impact on the result.
The Leeds boss has claimed that he wasn’t ‘incorrect’ to name his team in advance but he won’t be doing it again.
Bielsa is quoted by Leeds Live as saying, “Nothing about it was incorrect. It would be incorrect if we thought that knowing the XI of the opponent gives you an important advantage. For me, it doesn’t give you an important advantage.
“From now on to avoid any backlash I will not continue to give answers on the players who can or cannot play at the weekend.
“Imagine that the manager of West Ham says I anticipated the team. For me to name the team ahead of time is something I shouldn’t do. Anyhow, the formation, the XI I gave last week without knowingly given it because they asked me about a certain position in particular and I spontaneously gave the XI with the player playing in that position.”
Leeds’ vulnerability at set-pieces was exposed once again in the loss to West Ham as it was poor defending from corners that cost the Whites, rather than Bielsa’s early team news.
This is something that needs to be remedied before Bielsa’s side take on Newcastle on Wednesday night as Leeds could do with a morale-boosting win.
The game against Newcastle comes at a great time for Leeds as the Magpies still have several players ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19.
Leeds fans will be expecting a positive result after Newcastle just about defeated a poor West Brom side this weekend with Miguel Almiron and Dwight Gayle on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win.
Ahead of the game one thing is for sure, Steve Bruce won’t have knowledge of Leeds’ starting 11 until Wednesday night.
In other Leeds United news, Bielsa admits that Leeds have a big problem ahead of clash v Newcastle