Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that he will name an unchanged side for the Championship game against Wigan on Saturday afternoon.
Bielsa was on good form in his pre-match press conference after the 3-0 win against Salford on Tuesday night.
Before that game, he’d mentioned that a fan had asked him not to give the team away, as was his way for a lot of last season.
He mentioned that fan again today but couldn’t help himself.
As quoted by Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Lee Sobot he said, “Now I cannot say the team because one supporter said that two days before I give too much information to the other team. But between you and me it’s going to be the same team.”
Brilliant from Bielsa on team news: "Now I cannot say the team because one supporter said that two days before I give too much information to the other team. But between you and me it's going to be the same team." #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) August 15, 2019
It means that this is the side that Bielsa will put out against Wigan on Saturday (Bielsa was talking about the last Championship game against Nottingham Forest and not the changed line-up that played Salford on Tuesday).
TiF Verdict
Bielsa had fun in today’s press conference but he’ll have annoyed some fans by giving away the Leeds team again. However, it doesn’t usually take a rocket scientist to second-guess the maverick manager and Bielsa himself obviously doesn’t think this information makes any difference.
That might seem at odds with a manager who was revealed to be obsessive about his pre-match preparations last season, to the extent that he sent staff to watch opposition teams training.
That exploded into Spygate although it’s worth pointing out that he started giving his team out after this incident.
Of all weeks though, perhaps this was the one when fans might have expected to see a change.
Eddie Nketiah scored on his debut against Salford but it looks like he’s going to have to wait for his chance to start in the Championship, with Bielsa ready to persevere with Patrick Bamford up front.
It also means that big summer signing Helder Costa is still waiting for his first start in the Championship.
Both are brilliant players to have up your sleeve ready to come on and make an impact if needed.