Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed a number of players that will start in the Carabao Cup tomorrow night.
Talking in his pre-match press conference, Bielsa said that “many players who haven’t played so far will play. ”
He confirmed that Jamal Blackman, Jamie Shackleton, Pontus Jansson, Tom Pearce, Lewis Baker, Tyler Roberts, Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison would all start the game against Bolton.
Bielsa on tomorrow's tie: "So far we've played only two games. Tomorrow many players who haven't played so far will play." Blackman, Shackleton, Jansson, Pearce, Baker, Roberts, Bamford, Harrison will all start. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) August 13, 2018
OPINION
This might be a second-string team but it’s still a hugely exciting line-up that will give Leeds fans a chance to see some of their summer signings for the first time. Patrick Bamford might not have expected to be second-choice striker after his big-money move but Kemar Roofe is in such good form that he’s unlikely to be dropped anytime soon. That means Bamford is going to have to take his chance when he can and his first opportunity will be against Bolton in the Carabao Cup. It’s a great problem for Bielsa to have and it shows how much more he’s managed to get from the core of players that were at Leeds last season. Leeds fans were hugely concerned about this over the summer and were convinced the players weren’t good enough after flopping last season. It seems all they needed was a good new manager. A run in the Carabao Cup will be a mixed blessing though. It will give players the chance to play for Bielsa, but it will also put more strain on a squad that isn’t huge. You never want to go out and lose a match but this wouldn’t be the worst one.