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Match: Rotherham United v Leeds United
Date: 26 January 2019
Time: 15.00 BST, 10.00 AM EDT, 12.00 ART
Venue: New York Stadium, Rotherham, England.
Television: None.
Streaming: LUTV, iFollow for overseas customers.
Check livesoccertv for additional information.
All-time Record: Leeds v Rotherham: 16W 6D 14L
Reverse Fixture: 18 August 2018: Leeds 2-0 Rotherham
Rotherham have fresh issues ahead of Leeds game. Bit of illness in the camp - Towell has struggled a bit. Only 18 fit players. Ajayi (medial) & Robertson (doubts), but Warne hopeful they will be ok #rufc #lufc
— leon wobschall (@LeonWobYP) January 24, 2019
Casilla starts on Saturday, Kalvin Phillips will play at centre-back in place of Pontus Jansson. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) January 24, 2019
Leeds United are coming off of what Marcelo Bielsa has called the “worst” performance of the season, looking to right the ship against a Rotherham United side that sits just outside of the relegation zone and is currently suffering from illness. So trap game?
The kind of loss that Leeds suffered against Stoke City would have crippled previous editions of Leeds sides, as an overwhelming sense of “here we go again” would have infected the club. After all, this is the same team that had members under Garry Monk, allegedly, checking their phones after losses down the stretch to see if they were still mathematically in the playoffs and how many more games they could lose and still qualify.
Under Paul Heckingbottom last year, the team seemed to have no consistent form or philosophy and after the opponents scored a goal the players seemed to give up.
However, under Bielsa, this team seems different. The team responded to a losing streak in the league by putting on a dominant performance against Derby County, and while off the pitch “Spygate” has gotten the EFL all abuzz, on the pitch this team seems as committed as ever.
Leeds will feature their latest signing, goalkeeper Kiko Casilla from Real Madrid, and perhaps a signing like that shows the difference in intent between this team and teams from past years. Leeds have perhaps the best manager in the division, and perhaps one of the best managers in England in Bielsa, and instead of recruiting players from League One, the team is now signing players from the defending Champions League winners.
So can this team come out and get a win on the road in a Yorkshire derby? Of course they can. This isn’t Heckingbottom’s Leeds, or Monk’s Leeds team that folded down the stretch. This is Bielsa’s Leeds, and long may he hold court at Thorp Arch.