This weekend sees another massive clash in the upper echelons of the Championship table as Leeds United travel to Middlesbrough.

Both sides are vying for promotion to the top flight with Leeds currently sat in second place with Middlesbrough in fifth.

Earlier in the season, before the reverse fixture, we saw the blossoming friendship between Marcelo Bielsa and Tony Pulis as the pair exchanged praised for each other before a tedious clash at Elland Road.

This time around has been very similar.

Bielsa has been roundly hammered by nearly all Football League managers who have spoken out over spying antics throughout the season but Pulis broke the mould on Friday.

Instead, he backed his weekend rival, dismissing all allegations against the Argentinian and reminding onlookers that every manager watches other teams in various ways.

Leeds fans have been passionately fighting their manager's corner for a long time now, so what will they think of Pulis' intervention?

I imagine they will be a bit surprised. The stereotype that Pulis carries with him is that he is a bit of a dinosaur and as such is likely to be strongly opposed to Bielsa's tactics.

Au contraire, it has turned out. Leeds fans have never exactly sung the praises of Pulis but they will be delighted to see a high profile manager come out and publicly back their man and subsequently their club.