Marcelo Bielsa will be hoping to see his side bounce back from their first defeat of the season last Saturday when they take on Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night at Hillsborough in the clash of the Championship this weekend.

Leeds’ form has somewhat dwindled in recent weeks, having won just once in four games since the turn of the international break.

Sheffield Wednesday have had an upturn in their form in recent weeks having lost just once in their last six matches. 

If Wednesday are to keep their fine form going, then Barry Bannan will be the man their fans pin their hopes on in this Yorkshire clash under the lights at Hillsborough.

He has only scored two goals, but he has been an ever-present in the Wednesday midfield, his first goal of the season was a thunderbolt volley against Millwall, which happened to kick-start their impressive run.

Bannan averages two key passes per game, and also manages approximately 71.2 passes per 90 minutes he plays.

That figure is impressive, as he is the man that Wednesday rely on to create, and with an average pass success rate per game of 79.9 per cent, he is certainly on form and creating chances for his teammates, and that has shown in the positive turn of results since the start of August.

Bannan’s midfield rival Mateusz Kich has had a revival under Marcelo Bielsa.

Having barely featured last term, his Elland Road career was set to be over, but the Argentine coach has brought him in from the cold - and he has been a revelation.

Klich has played in all nine of Leeds’ Championship fixtures and has scored three goals, the opening goal in each of the games he has netted in.

The Poland international edges it in the goals front, but also in the assist stakes, with two, one more than his Wednesday rival.

He makes fewer key passes per game, but what he lacks in that respect he has made up for in goals and assists.

Additionally, he averages a way lower passes per game average, 47.3 per cent which is way down on his rival’s.

Despite that, Klich has a better success rate when it comes to completed passes to team-mates, stacking up an average of 83.3 per cent per game.

Both players have similar figures in their stats this season far, and it will be an exciting battle between the pair on Friday evening.

The Verdict

This looks set to be a tight game between the two rivals under the lights of Hillsborough on what is sure to be a crisp Friday evening in Yorkshire.

So far this season, the Leeds man is superior to his counterpart in three aspects mentioned above, scoring more goals and registering more assists, and having a better pass success rate.

But Bannan has the ball more than Klich and finds a killer ball more often.

The game will be won in the midfield, so whichever player comes out on top, there is a good chance their team could be victorious.

Other factors will obviously play a part in Friday’s clash, but it could be down to the odd goal as to who wins walks away with all three points.

Bannan and Klich will be key players for their respective sides as both sides look to get the edge over one another.