Leeds United are making it hard for themselves when it comes to the automatic promotion spots as they suffered a loss against Birmingham City. The Whites have been far too inconsistent in the past two months and given their current form; not many fans would back them to qualify to the Premier League via the playoffs route.
Moreover, mentally the team might suffer a significant setback as the West Yorkshire side led the table for the most parts and finishing third, in the end, will be a body blow. Nevertheless, there is still enough time as the Whites trail Sheffield United by just one point. They travel to the Deepdale Stadium to take on Preston North End next.
Here are three things which Bielsa needs to do to ensure a victory.
Start with Roofe up top
Leeds United created some decent chances in the last game, but Patrick Bamford was unable to take them. He managed to hit the post once and failed to score from a tap in on another occasion. Roofe is back fit and available, and there is every chance that he might get the nod ahead of Bamford to start up front.
Roofe will bring more energy up front, and his work rate was missed in the past few games.
Not overcommitting
Leeds United had 74 percent possession in the last game, and they managed nine shots on goal and just one on target. On the other hand, Birmingham with minimal possession managed to test Casilla far more often as they had ten shots on goal and seven on target. With just 26 percent possession, that is an astounding number, and Birmingham looked like scoring every time they had the ball.
The Whites often commit everyone forward with the fullbacks playing very high. That makes them extremely vulnerable to counter attacks. It’s true that they were chasing the game, but they need to stay in the match until the very end before committing that many men forward. United were lucky that Casilla bailed them out on various occasions to keep the scoreline within reach.
Taking time in the final third
Now we often want the players to move the ball quickly to exploit space, but one also needs that level of players who can do such things at high speed. The Whites have been far too guilty of not making the right decision in the final third.
Their movement and positioning often look sharp, but when it comes to picking the final pass, they often fluff their lines. It would be better if Bielsa gives them the freedom to take their time to find the right pass as the current crop of players are just not good enough to play so precisely at such high speed.
