Match Thread Everton v Leeds United - Preview, Match Report and MotM Poll

[Egil Olsen]

Fair enough, I don’t really get how that tells you if a team is parking the bus like. I think you’d have to watch them play to determine if they’re doing that.

If you park the bus, the opponent will pass several times before reaching the first press line, and the strategy is that it is perfectly fine for the opponent to just pass, as long as the opponent does not approach the penalty area.

Leeds has the lowest number in the PL

 

[MikeH72]

If you park the bus, the opponent will pass several times before reaching the first press line, and the strategy is that it is perfectly fine for the opponent to just pass, as long as the opponent does not approach the penalty area.

But what if you’re playing against a team that is possession based, that plays 100 short passes across the midfield before they approach the box, like Man City? Doesn’t that just distort the numbers and is more down to the opposition’s style of play than your own? This is why football can’t be reduced to raw data.

 

[blueconverse]

A week of defensive drills i hope.

 

[Ring master]

Mate, come on. It's nine games in.

It's a long season. We're four points behind the joint-leaders.

We need to keep the wins up - totally agree - but Europe's not going to be settled 11 games into the season, especially in a year when everything is going to be so tight.

Think if people would have said we would win 5 from 1st 9, be 6th [chance to actually go 5th tonight] be one of the teams that are top scorers, be 2 points off 3rd, 4 points off top, while not signing many new players compared to the outsiders that act as though we have signed loads during the summer, i think many would have took that, There is always the teams that we should beat but it is never that simple as Everton prove so many times-I am more than happy with things at the minute, though we never want to lose when we do, or if we do lose we want to lose with us fighting with effort.

 

[BlueToff]

Think if people would have said we would win 5 from 1st 9, be 6th [chance to actually go 5th tonight] be one of the teams that are top scorers, be 2 points off 3rd, 4 points off top, while not signing many new players compared to the outsiders that act as though we have signed loads during the summer, i think many would have took that, There is always the teams that we should beat but it is never that simple as Everton prove so many times-I am more than happy with things at the minute, though we never want to lose when we do, or if we do lose we want to lose with us fighting with effort.

Yeah.

We've been crap since the derby, most of yesterday included, and I have big worries over parts of our squad and, again, our transfer strategy.

But there's nothing to 'write off' 9 games into the season. While we should of course, and will do, go out to win the next two games, at this stage in the season there's nothing to write off.

We aren't in a normal campaign and that can obviously cloud things, as we're nearing the Christmas period but are actually only where we'd normally be in mid-to-late October.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

Mate, come on. It's nine games in.

It's a long season. We're four points behind the joint-leaders.

We need to keep the wins up - totally agree - but Europe's not going to be settled 11 games into the season, especially in a year when everything is going to be so tight.

9 games or nothing - recent history tells us if we are not in the pack come December our season tends to be over and the players put their slippers on.

We lose to Leeds for example and we could end up around 8th-10th with the feeling of another average season upon us.

 

[BlueToff]

9 games or nothing - recent history tells us if we are not in the pack come December our season tends to be over and the players put their slippers on.

We lose to Leeds for example and we could end up around 8th-10th with the feeling of another average season upon us.

But never in our recent history has December come around after 10 games. It is often around the 13-14 game mark (9-12 points).

Btw, I do see your point, but the timings can't be judged against a 'normal' season.

Those fixtures that we're still lagging on (3-4), won't be played until after the European games for 2020 have run their course.

 

[Egil Olsen]

But what if you’re playing against a team that is possession based, that plays 100 short passes across the midfield before they approach the box, like Man City? Doesn’t that just distort the numbers and is more down to the opposition’s style of play than your own? This is why football can’t be reduced to raw data.

Then, for tactical reasons, the opponent gives City the opportunity to do so. This indicates that the opponent is not pressing high. Teams will have different tactics from match to match, but mostly it will be a common thread in how teams choose to pressure the opponent. However, this numerical measure does not provide an answer to the quality of the pressure, but it does give an indication of how high and intense it is. I have seen many Leeds matches this year, and this index matches well with what I have seen. Bielsa is also known for the intense pressure that his teams play with. That's one of his hallmarks.

 

[Exeter_Gently]

Love all these Bielsa stooges me, Waxing lyrical over his tactics, slapping their baloney over him crouching on the touchline. We'll beat these 3-0. Don't care who's beat us this season,dont care who their manager is,Leeds are toilet.

 

[Kantareller]

Can Bielsa order his team to concede 10 v us?

 

[UptheTofees]

I'm just glad that we are back to winning. Yeah it ended poorly, but we played some sexy football for a 30 minute stretch.

Between the 3 game poor stretch and the 2 Colombia losses where we conceded 9 in 2 games, I was feeling like I was taking a beating.

Now the stretch is done. I can't wait for this match. 4-3

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Will be interesting to see if Bielsa tells that Kalvin Phillips to shadow James.

 

[LeedsW5]

Hi Guys, Leeds fan here.

Nice to see you're so confident against us - mood on our side is that we're also pretty confident so it'll be interesting to see how things pan out.

I think the two results before Arsenal distorted how a lot of people were seeing us. Leicester we got beat fair and square, although the margin was a tad misleading looking at the xG. Palace was simply a '[Poor language removed] happens' day - Dann's header deflects off both Koch & the bar, Bamford's 1st disallowed, Eze cracks one in from 30 yards off the bar and a freak deflection off Costa. We went in 3-1 down at HT with Palace having created 0.32xG.

Arsenal we were well on top against 11, as soon as they went down to 10 they gave up on attacking and parked the bus. 3 hits of the woodwork that (unlike Palace's a week prior) didn't go our way and two bad misses from Ayling and Klich, plus some good stops from Leno. A game we should have won with better finishing, which was our Achilles Heel last year in the EFL.

Our team selection is a bit uncertain. Alioski came in at LB for Arsenal, with Stuart Dallas moving to CM. Both performed well so who you drop is a tough choice. Rodrigo (our usual CAM) will have had another week's Covid recovery so I'd expect Bielsa will want him to start, and Hernandez should be fit enough for the bench.

Bielsa always likes to have an extra man at the back so if you're going 4-4-2 with Rodriguez on the right, I'd expect us to line up in a 3-3-1-3. I'd expect Dallas to be given the job of marking Rodriguez - he's done a similar job on other 10s e.g. Eze for QPR, Pereira for WBA.

As has been said elsewhere, I'd expect us to try and attack and dominate the ball from the first minute. We tend to use the wings to overload before cutting back into the penalty area, with the Dallas/Harrison/Rodrigo and Ayling/Raphinha/Klich triangles being key for interplay on the edge of the box.

My best guess at our side to start the game will be:

(3-3-1-3)
1. Illan Meslier
5. Robin Koch
23. Kalvin Phillips
6. Liam Cooper (c)
2. Luke Ayling
43. Mateusz Klich
15. Stuart Dallas
20. Rodrigo
18. Raphinha
9. Patrick Bamford
22. Jack Harrison

or

(4-1-4-1)

1. Illan Meslier
2. Luke Ayling
5. Robin Koch
6. Liam Cooper
15. Stuart Dallas
23. Kalvin Phillips
18. Raphinha
43. Mateusz Klich
20. Rodrigo
22. Jack Harrison
9. Patrick Bamford

Subs: 13. Kiko Casilla, 7. Ian Poveda, 10. Gianni Alioski, 11. Tyler Roberts, 17. Helder Costa, 19. Pablo Hernandez, 21. Pascal Struijk

 

[Billy Dean]

I expect us to get turned over here.

 

[Encoder]

This. People on here are actually blowing Leeds United up as if they’re a good side and cracking one out over them though. Saying the likes of Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford will “rip us apart”. We can only defeat ourselves in this fixture.

This is whats worrying people! I don't reckon anyone anyone thinks the Leeds players are amazing or anything, they're just scared of our usual pants filling against a load of energetic cloggers.