Marcelo Bielsa begins his second season in English football this weekend as Leeds United head to Ashton Gate to take on Bristol City.

Leeds finished third in Bielsa’s first full year in England, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion before crashing out of the play-off semi-finals.

So, expectations have risen at Leeds ahead of the new season, but Pontus Jansson’s departure has left a big hole in their defence, whilst supporters do feel that the squad is short in certain areas.

Nevertheless, Bielsa has some strong options to choose from this Sunday, particularly going forwards.

We take a look at the XI we expect Bielsa to go with against the Robins…

Last year saw Leeds go with a 4-1-4-1 for most of the campaign, but pre-season has indicated Bielsa is now favouring a 3-3-1-3 – a system he had great success with as Chile boss.

In goal, we will see Kiko Casilla, with the Spaniard set to start the campaign as No.1 despite an inconsistent second-half of last season.

With Gaetano Berardi suspended, Leif Davis could be given an opportunity to start the game, and we’ve opted for him on the left of our three-man defence. Liam Cooper will captain the side, whilst Ben White – a summer signing from Brighton – completes our defence.

Kalvin Phillips was a player we saw drop into the defence last season, but he’s at his best in a holding midfield role, and that’s where he is expected to play this weekend, almost at the base of a diamond.

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Either side of him should be Barry Douglas and Stuart Dallas, who will feature as inverted wing-backs in the 3-3-1-3, whilst the point of the diamond should be Mateusz Klich.

The 10-goal midfield man will operate as the central playmaker as Helder Costa and Pablo Hernandez drift wide. Jack Harrison is another option for Bielsa to consider, but we imagine that the 22-year-old might be used as an option from the bench after a strong pre-season.

With Kemar Roofe out injured – and more worryingly his future with Leeds in doubt – Patrick Bamford will lead the line, with the 25-year-old looking to hit the ground running and cement his place as Bielsa’s leading striker.

Luke Ayling and Tyler Roberts join Roofe on the sidelines this weekend, depriving Bielsa of two players who had a big role last season.