Football writer Conor McGilligan has claimed that Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa may be ready to have a real go in one of the cup competitions this season.
At the end of August, Leeds will come up against Arsenal in the next round of the Carabao Cup. Having defeated Crewe Alexandra and Fulham in previous rounds, a win at the Emirates Stadium could signify a proper cup run for the club this season.
While looking ahead to the match on a Leeds United Live Facebook stream, McGilligan claimed that Bielsa had not perhaps taken England’s domestic cup competitions particularly seriously in the past, but he could be ready to mix things up this season.
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He said: “We’ve always said this throughout the years, haven’t we, with Marcelo Bielsa – has he always taken the cup competitions seriously?
“And that’s definitely up for debate, but this year – especially when you saw against the likes of Crewe, when he put out a very, very strong side – Bielsa might have turned the screw a little bit and might be thinking a little bit further forward in terms of the cup competitions, which would be advantageous for Leeds fans, because I think we’d all like a cup run.
“But once again, it’s that whole nervous energy, isn’t it, about staying in the Premier League this year.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds United’s recent cup efforts…
Under Bielsa, Leeds have not made it past the third round of the FA Cup, which certainly does seem to back up the claim made by McGilligan.
And things have not been any better in the EFL Cup, with the club only making it past the second round this year, with the club potentially hoping to improve the current run against the Gunners.
Considering a number of key first-team players such as Kalvin Phillips, Jack Harrison and Junior Firpo started against Crewe in the first round of the competition, it does look as if Bielsa may really go for it this season.
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