Manchester United defeated Leeds 4-2 at Elland Road in mid-February last year and Marcelo Bielsa was sacked just a week later. Bielsa was revered throughout West Yorkshire but his stubborn tactical approach was often flawed in the Premier League.
Leeds were tragically porous during Bielsa's time in charge in the top flight and that was especially pronounced in meetings against United, who scored a total of 15 goals against their historic rivals in just four meetings across two seasons.
Bielsa suffered a 6-2 defeat and a 5-1 defeat at Old Trafford after guiding Leeds back to the Premier League and last February's meeting against the Reds at Elland Road proved to be his last, which for the 67-year-old's sake, was probably for the best.
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The Argentinian could not organise a defence in the Premier League and he faced immense scrutiny in that area, particularly for how his side defended set-piece scenarios, which was highlighted by Harry Maguire in his final week in charge of the club.
Leeds conceded 15 goals from set pieces in 2020/21 and conceded 19 goals from set pieces in 2021/22, which means, rather embarrassingly, they were the worst team in the Premier League at defending set pieces for consecutive campaigns,
That record was so bad, that it became impressively bad. It was no secret that teams would target Leeds in such scenarios with Bielsa in charge and it was also no surprise to see Maguire find the back of the net from a corner in the 4-2 victory.
Maguire opened the scoring on that rainy afternoon at Elland Road and Leeds' man-marking system was taken advantage of, as Pascal Struijk, who is one of Leeds' stronger aerial players, was marking outside of the box, which was baffling.
While Struijk kept tabs on Scott McTominay, who did not pose a threat, Maguire nodded home and did a knee slide in celebration in front of the home support. Bielsa received intense criticism and that defeat was one of the final straws in his reign.
Leeds appointed Jesse Marsch as Bielsa's successor last season and, although he made progress in addressing their vulnerability from set-pieces, it was not a problem that he could solve completely during the short time he was at Elland Road.
Marsch was sacked earlier this week ahead of back-to-back fixtures against United and Leeds' owner indicated on Tuesday afternoon that an appointment was imminent, suggesting they're hopeful of a new manager bounce in those games.
Regardless of any potential 'new manager bounce' Leeds might benefit from against United, the odds seem stacked against them, especially at Old Trafford, where Erik ten Hag's side are looking for a 14th successive home victory.
United have been excellent at Old Trafford and that's without mentioning 24 points are between the sides in the table. United will be confident of taking six points from Leeds in the next few days and their set piece record is something to target again.
Although Marsch did attempt to address Leeds' set-piece vulnerability, they've conceded seven goals from set-pieces this season and only three clubs, Southampton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth, two of which are in the relegation zone, have a worse record.
That is something Eric Ramsay, who was appointed as United's set-piece coach in 2021 before being eventually retained by Ten Hag in the summer, will have discussed at Carrington in preparation for the match, as it's an obvious weakness to exploit.
United have not excelled at scoring from set pieces in recent seasons, but they were goals from attacking scenarios in matches against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth in December, for which Ramsay was given credit for having a role in.
However, Ramsay will know United should be scoring more goals from set pieces and Leeds are the ideal opponent for that.
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