The list of Premier League matches for 2020/21 has been officially announced. Liverpool will begin their home defense against Leeds United.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team achieved automatic promotion last season, so that the whites can return to the top English league after 16 years of absence.
They dominated the championship while the Reds dominated the Premier League, but what can Jürgen Klopp expect from Bielsa’s side on opening day? Let’s take a look at what they offered on the pitch last year to sum up Liverpool’s opponents.
Leeds won the championship last season with 10 points, scoring the second most goals and conceding the fewest goals against defensive.
Bielsa’s team is well trained, and you can tell from the numbers below the surface.
Expected Goals (xG) – which tended to provide an accurate summary of whether a team deserved fewer or more goals, mainly based on their shooting positions – indicated that Leeds was showing the best attack.
First and foremost, xG is a performance indicator. Leeds is expected to score around 83 goals in total. They only scored 77 points, however, which means they underperformed with around six goals when it came to actually ending the shooting opportunities they generated.
Her below par ability to convert shots has been a recurring issue since Bielsa was appointed in 2018.
Leeds’ high xG resulted from their ability to produce shots. They tried to find the web at least 50 times more than any other site, averaging 14.5 tries per game over the course of the campaign.
The subject was continued in defense. Bielsa’s men had the best record with only 35 goals conceded and also had the lowest xG against.
They took at least 47 fewer shots than any other team, with their intense pressure approach pretty much similar to Liverpool’s early years under Klopp. The whites hunt in packs and close relentlessly until ownership is restored.
Of course, Leeds’ defense was bolstered last season by loaned defender Ben White. It has been reported that three offers have been turned down to make the move permanent and that an alternative solution may need to be found should he stay in Brighton this summer.
Once the numbers in question are coupled with their general ownership stake averaging 62.4%, it becomes clear that the Bielsa team has consistently shown supremacy over the process.
Whether this can continue in the Premier League is another story. Leeds will not be able to control their opponents as comfortably as before, especially when it comes to the Anfield trip.
Mohamed Salah is asked to take down a stubborn defense but how it is usually built could give him the edge.
An urgent approach requires a high line of defense which, given the pace and threat of Salah and Sadio Mane in the background, could be problematic for Leeds if the Reds manage to play through their press.
How will Leeds deal with the quality and overwhelming strength of Liverpool? Will they try to play the same way or adapt to get a positive result? We’ll have to wait and see, but if the authentic Bielsa version from Leeds makes an appearance on September 12th, the new campaign could start on a bang.
* What do you think of Everton’s characters? Let us know in our poll HERE
.
