Blackburn Rovers host Leeds United this weekend.
Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has highlighted Leeds United’s physical attributes as the best in the Championship and admits he is struggling with his team selection as a result.
“That has given me some selection issues to deal with,” Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph.
“The head of sports science put on my desk a couple of days ago the physical stats of our game compared to them and theirs were the best in the league quite considerably.
“There’s the challenge for the team and every time you challenge this team they look to come up with the answer and have found the answers. Let’s see how we get on this weekend, we know how tough it’s going to be, that they have lots of good players and are a very athletic team.”
Leeds have been superb this season under Argentine boss Marcelo Bielsa, losing just one of their 12 Championship games so far as they look to challenge for promotion to the Premier League.
Bielsa is renowned for working his players hard in training sessions, and his side’s intensity this season has proven too much for some of their opponents both at Elland Road and on their travels.
Blackburn have generally fared well against the division’s biggest clubs this term, holding the likes of Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Derby County to draws while beating Stoke City away from home.
But the Whites will pose a different threat altogether, and Rovers must match the Yorkshire side’s work-rate and pressing levels if they harbour any hopes of picking up a positive result at Ewood Park.
No team has scored more goals from open play (18) than Leeds this season, while the Whites rank second in the Championship for average number of short passes per game with 421 (Whoscored).
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