What to Expect From Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds in Season Opener Against Liverpool

For the second campaign running, the Championship winners travel to Anfield for their opening game of the season.

The 2019/20 curtain-raiser saw Daniel Farke's Norwich enter the Merseyside cauldron first up against the then champions of Europe. They left the north west with an emphatic defeat which would not only foreshadow their impending woes, but Liverpool's imperious title-winning run also.

That Friday night saw the Canaries overawed by their opponents, specifically the Reds' full-back pairing.

In Farke's 4-2-3-1, the attacking midfield triumvirate positioned themselves extremely narrow - akin to Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs during their pomp - behind Teemi Pukki to facilitate quick combinations, interchanges and greater scope to win back possession immediately after it was lost high up the pitch.

What this left, however, were gaping voids for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to exploit down the flanks. They were essentially free to advance into the final third, while young full-back pairing Max Aarons and Jamal Lewis were left unprotected on their Premier League debuts.

So, it was no surprise Alexander-Arnold and Robertson combined for 169 touches, 17 crosses and an assist in a comfortable 4-1 triumph. It was an absolute bombardment down the flanks.

This time around, though, such naivety isn't expected in the away dugout. Not from one of the most influential tactical minds of the modern era.

Marcelo Bielsa is set to lock horns with Jurgen Klopp for the first time in his managerial career on Saturday evening, and although the German string-puller doesn't necessary idolise El Loco in the same way that perhaps Pep Guardiola or Mauricio Pochettino do, there are certainly similarities in the ways the pair set about winning football matches.

The most obvious alignment is their respective emphases on counter-pressing; the "best playmaker in the world" in the eyes of Klopp - whose notorious gegenpress thrusted Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles and on the cusp of a European title - and a pivotal concept in Bielsa's complex machine.

Thus, what we can expect from Saturday's clash is a contest in which both sides' transitional play - offensively and defensively - will be crucial, while errors in the build-up phase have the potential to be frequent due to the meticulousness of both Liverpool's and Leeds' structure out of possession and their sheer intensity in counter-pressing situations.

To mitigate this threat, Klopp will surely emphasise the more direct style we've grown accustomed to seeing over the past 18 months, with long balls directed for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the channels destined to be rife to not only catch out the Leeds defence but also maximise the number of opportunities for their front three to win the ball high upfield.

As for Bielsa, there won't be any shying away from his typical positional play ideals. This will be the same high-octane and vertical Leeds side that we've seen over the past two seasons and continue to enjoy as long as the Argentine remains at the helm.

El Loco's system is incredibly difficult to define due to the overwhelming fluidity and constant rotations which occur within what's often an eccentric 3-3-1-3 or 4-1-4-1 depending on the phase of the game.

What's less ambiguous, however, is their build-up structure. Leeds tend to build-up using a back three - with left-back Stuart Dallas tucking infield to facilitate the advancement of Luke Ayling, or Kalvin Phillips dropping from his anchor role in midfield to allow both full-backs to advance.

They're confident against any side due to the superiorities they create in the first phase and the fine ball-players they're blessed with in their backline and midfield. Elegant passer Robin Koch will be taking the mantle from Ben White following his arrival from Freiburg this summer.

Ayling is one of the key weapons for Bielsa; he's crucial in orchestrating overloads down the right-hand side, is superb at making both underlapping and overlapping runs in behind and is able to play an inverted role to support the midfield. It's a demanding function, but one he's mastered since the Argentine's appointment.

Meanwhile, Phillips' capacity to shun opposition counters through dogged recovery running and his supreme ball-winning prowess is mightily impressive and essentially allows Bielsa to commit more bodies forward to his fierce man-oriented press led by his selfless number nine - whoever that is on Saturday.

Will he stick with the profligate but familiar Patrick Bamford or hand record-signing Rodrigo a Premier League debut against Virgil van Dijk?

Nevertheless, what gives Leeds hope against the Reds is how quickly they settle into their 4-1-4-1 defensive block if their press is bypassed, where they can then spring into life if an opportunity presents itself to break.

And with Georginio Wijnaldum potentially absent from Klopp's starting XI due to questions regarding his future, this Liverpool side are certainly more vulnerable in defensive transition - especially Fabinho when tasked with defending too much space.

The Dutchman's role is markedly underrated; he's the man to keep his team compact and ensure the contest is played in the opposition's half for the most part.

Overall, it's Leeds' speed in transition, dynamic down the right and seemingly innate rotations as a result of Bielsa's well-drilled positional play which pose Klopp's men the greatest threat at the weekend, while they'll have to minimise errors in the first phase and overload the flanks to nullify the Reds' full-backs if they're to avoid a Norwich-esque drubbing.

It's an incredibly difficult task against such a relentless machine, but Bielsa's genius undoubtedly gives them a shot at upsetting the odds.

Nevertheless, while the trip to the champions won't define Leeds' campaign it could certainly serve as a tone-setter for what promises to be an intriguing and enthralling return to the top-flight under El Loco.