On Sunday there is an exciting match immediately when Stoke City visits Leeds United. The home team has won a coach with great class with Marcelo Bielsa and seems to be able to compete with him for the fight for promotion. Stoke City will want to promote to the Premier League again as soon as possible after the relegation of last season.
Leeds United:
After the resignation of Paul Heckingbottom after last season, Leeds United surprised everyone by appointing Marcelo Bielsa as the new head coach of the first team. The 62-year-old Argentinian has been praised several times by superpowers such as Pep Guardiola for his football knowledge and way of coaching. El Loco, as Bielsa’s nickname is, has previously under his wing Athletic Bilbao, Olympique Marseille and the Argentine national team under his care. Since the end of 2017 Bielsa was clubless after his resignation at the French LOSC Lille.
Since the appointment of Bielsa, a number of reinforcements have also been purchased by Leeds. First of all, Lewis Baker, known for his time at Vitesse, and Jamal Blackman were hired from Chelsea. In addition, Barry Douglas was taken over for slightly more than three million euros from brand new Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Scottish defender had a large share in the strong defense of last year’s champion and with the purchase of Douglas The Whites seem to opt for extra defensive stability. Finally, the wallet was drawn for striker Patrick Bamford. The 24-year-old Bamford, who was under contract at Chelsea for a long time and who earned his living at Middlesbrough last year, has been taken over from Boro for just under eight million.
Although targeted purchases have been made and Bielsa is an excellent coach for the team, Leeds does not seem to be participating in the championship. The large purchases that The Whites’ supporters hoped for after the appointment of Bielsa did not materialize, and the expectations were somewhat tempered. Nevertheless, the future of Leeds looks a lot brighter than in recent years.
Stoke City:
As is logical, most strong holders of a club have not managed to avoid relegation. Stoke City has also experienced this. The biggest loss is that of World Cup winner Xherdan Shaqiri. The Swiss international has been sold to Liverpool for a bargain price in the current market (less than fifteen million euros). Even more striking is that The Potters have deposited nearly twelve million euros for his replacement, Tom Ince. The right outside is taken over from Huddersfield Town and has signed a contract in Stoke-on-Trent until mid-2022. Besides Ince, Benik Afobe has also put a large amount of money on the table. The 25-year-old striker has been taken over for 13.5 million euros from Wolverhampton Wanderers. A very remarkable transfer, since the Congolese international had been taken over a little over eleven million euros from Bournemouth the previous week by means of a transfer clause included in his contract.
In addition to Afobe and Ince, Ashley Williams has added a Premier League-worthy player to the selection. The captain of Wales has been hired for a year from Everton, for which he did not take much more action last year. The Welshman seems to be forming a duo with Captain Ryan Shawcross in the heart of the defense. With the arrival of Williams, Martins Indi seems to be seizing next to a base. The Dutchman still barks on a transfer to Fenerbahçe, but the deal with the Turkish top club has not yet been completed. Besides Martins Indi, Ibrahim Afellay and Erik Pieters are also still under contract with The Potters.
It is striking that the spot under the bar still belongs to Jack Butland. The keeper who was in the English World Cup selection last summer, has not yet been sold by Stoke City and the season seems to start in the Championship. Along with Saido Berahino, Joe Allen and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in the ranks, Stoke City seems to have one of the, if not the strongest, selection of the Championship and with that the relegant is immediately one of the biggest candidates for direct promotion.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1.76
