Those who watched any of Leeds United’s mid-season friendly outings at Elland Road this month will have spotted a subtle difference in Jesse Marsch’s tactics. The American head coach has favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation all season long with an attack-minded trio playing behind a lone striker.
It’s a formation Marsch used regularly before he arrived in West Yorkshire and it was how the Whites initially lined up against both Real Sociedad and AS Monaco, only with a twist. As Leeds prepared for kick-off, it seemed as though there was little different but as soon as they were out of possession they switched to what was clearly a 4-3-3.
Against Sociedad, Mateusz Klich could be seen dropping back from right midfield to the right side of a central three, while Rodrigo moved across to cover the space. The same thing could be seen against Monaco, only this time it was Sam Greenwood in the role, moving back to provide their opponents with three banks of players to play their way through.
