Marcelo Bielsa has spoken with the media, ahead of the Premier League match away at Newcastle United on Tuesday evening.

The Whites take on the Magpies at St James’ Park and will be looking to do the double over their opponents, having beaten them 5-2 at Elland Road last month. 

The Leeds United head coach began by giving team news and also talked about the return to action for Diego Llorente, after he played 45 minutes and scored for the Under-23s. 

“Illan Meslier has resolved his health issues,” Bielsa explained.

“There’s no new news, Robin Koch and Gaetano Berardi still remain out.

“The minutes with the Under-23s was an aspect Diego Llorente was missing, so that he could return with us. He has the characteristics of a strong defender. 

“He’s a player who is happy recovering the ball and he’s a player who has a physical attributes which can help in the aerial game and also on the ground.” 

Tuesday night’s opponents are currently eight matches without a win in the Premier League and have lost their last five in all competitions. Bielsa was keen to stress that despite that bad run, he’s focusing on his own side. 

He said: “It’s not so much about the rival, but about what we can do to hurt the opponent. 

“Whilst having knowledge of the opponent is something we have to take into account, it’s about facing another team and trying to be superior to them.

“We analysed the difficulties of the opponent, but of course we worry more about our own difficulties. 

“Our difficulties are just as present as theirs, as in every game, we will try to improve ourselves as a team.

“We’re not focused on the opponents bad run of form, we’re focused on our own game and trying to improve our form.  

“It’s not a rivals poor run of form that will help us to improve, we have to improve.”