The Sky Bet Championship season is just around the corner, with Leeds United and Stoke City amongst the clubs looking to firmly establish themselves in the race to secure promotion.
Leeds, who haven’t been in the Premier League since 2004, welcome recently-relegated Stoke to Elland Road on Sunday afternoon, with the clash in West Yorkshire amongst the Championship’s standout fixtures on the opening weekend.
Marcelo Bielsa will be the man in charge of Leeds heading into the new season, with the experienced Argentinian head-coach looking to end the Whites’ stint outside the top-flight.
For Stoke, Gary Rowett is now in charge, with the ex-Birmingham and Derby boss putting a strong squad together at the bet365 Stadium.
There will be plenty of eyes on Sunday’s fixture, and with that in mind, we take a look at FOUR talking points ahead of the clash between Leeds and Stoke…
Bielsa is a high-profile appointment at Elland Road, with the new Leeds head-coach bringing an outstanding reputation with him to the Championship.
It’s going to be interesting to see his methods in the Championship.
At Stoke, Rowett is an interesting appointment.
He has impressed in the Championship without ever delivering a promotion to the Premier League.
He will be looking to end that in May.
Bielsa has turned to a three-man defence at Leeds, which is something that most at Elland Road haven’t really experienced before.
Although personnel isn’t completely different, Leeds’ style will have changed from the days of Paul Heckingbottom.
The new-look Leeds will be something plenty of football fans are waiting to see.
Butland has been on World Cup duty with England, but remains a Stoke player despite their relegation.
A transfer back to the top-flight hasn’t materialised yet and it will be interesting to see if Rowett includes the goalkeeper in his side on Sunday.
Klich is a player that has impressed for Leeds during pre-season.
The midfielder wasn’t given a fair chance last season, but looks like he could shine under Bielsa.
Plenty of Leeds’ supporters want to see the Polish midfielder feature on Sunday.