Jesse Marsch has admitted that facing 'intense' Newcastle United on New Year's Eve is 'not the best situation' for his Leeds United side because the visitors will have had less rest.
Newcastle welcome Leeds to St James' Park on Saturday as the Magpies bid to build on an impressive 3-0 win at Leicester City on Boxing Day. It is a huge game for both sides; third-placed Newcastle can keep the pressure on champions Man City and league leaders Arsenal with a seventh successive top-flight win while Leeds are just two points above the relegation zone following a 3-1 defeat against Man City on Wednesday night.
Leeds will have two days less than Newcastle to prepare for the game after the Whites' clash against City kicked off 53 hours after Newcastle's match at Leicester got under way. Marsch's focus, as a result, will be on getting players like Jack Harrison and Crysencio Summerville closer to being match ready after the pair were not risked from the bench on Wednesday night.
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Marsch has also 'pushed training' over the last four weeks to ensure his side were ready for a packed run of fixtures after the World Cup break, but the American is not exactly delighted about the prospect of facing a fresher Newcastle side at the weekend.
"It's, obviously, not the best situation." he told reporters. "When the schedule comes out and then they change our match day and we know we have three match days rest and Newcastle has five - and by the way, Newcastle and us are the two most intense teams in the league - we know that the turnaround is going to be really important and the demand is going to be high for us.
"A lot of respect for the way that Newcastle plays and the results that they have got and the job that the manager has done so we know that we're in for another really tough match at their place come Saturday."
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