Leeds are suffering second season syndrome with injuries and CHAOTIC defending leaving Marcelo Bielsa's side at risk of a relegation dogfight.... so, will the stubborn Argentine stick to his guns in order to fix their alarming slump?

After returning to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years, Leeds United enjoyed a superb first campaign back in the top flight. 

They were a breath of fresh air with teams unable to answer to Marcelo Bielsa's unique way of playing - contributing to an impressive 9th place finish.  

However, the first-half of the current campaign has very much has all the symptoms of second season syndrome for the Yorkshire side.  

Marcelo Bielsa is facing his sternest criticism since he first joined Leeds back in 2018

The first 18 games have been riddled with chaotic performances, a plague of injuries to key players, with Bielsa sticking to his tactical philosophy no matter how many goals may have been put past them.   

Failing to win any of their first six games was a sign of things and to come and though a run involving Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal was always going to be tough, the manner of the defeats to the latter two sides will worry supporters - despite missing a big chunk of their team.

Leeds produced two poor defensive displays in which they shipped 11 goals and things could get worse before they get better, with their next game coming up against Liverpool at Anfield on Boxing Day.

They are now 16th in the table and five points clear of the relegation zone - though Watford and Burnley behind them have two and three games in hand respectively following recent match postponements due to the pandemic.  

Sportsmail takes a look at the issues that Leeds have faced this season and whether Bielsa can fix their alarming slump. 

WHAT HAS GONE WRONG FOR LEEDS?

It would be fair to say the defining issue of Leeds' season so far has been injuries, with Bielsa unable to select from a fully-fit squad at any stage this season and in turn has led to some of the other problems they now face.

There were positive signs when Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford returned after long lay-offs in the 2-2 draw against Brentford, only for Leeds to then lose a number of key players ahead of their current tricky run of fixtures.  

The majority of sides that lose their best midfielder (Kalvin Phillips), top scorer (Bamford), captain (Liam Cooper) and record signing (Rodrigo), all at the same time, would struggle and they have looked short of quality and leadership.

But part of this problem can be pointed to the club's recruitment over the summer and Bielsa's insistence on maintaining a small squad.

They have the smallest first-team squad in the league and it's left them short of suitable back-ups for players in key positions.    

In the summer, Leeds replaced left-back Ezgjan Alioski with Junior Firpo from Barcelona for £12.8m before waiting until the final day of the transfer window to pay £25m to sign Dan James from Manchester United.

James has been a player that Bielsa has been interested in before he joined the Red Devils from Swansea. However, signing a winger when they already had a number of players in wide positions didn't seem as necessary as another midfielder or a back-up striker. 

Midfield was always an area which looked like it needed strengthening, as even last season they appeared to be lacking, particularly when Phillips was not on the field.

With Phillips in the line-up last season, Leeds lost just eight of their 28 league games. Without him, they lost seven out of ten.  

During the summer transfer window, owner Andrea Radrizzani responded to a supporter asking 'where's the new midfielder hiding boss?' - with the reply 'Adam Forshaw'.

Forshaw did miss the whole of last season with an injury and has performed well on occasion but the response from the owner didn't go down well with Leeds supporters. 

Although Phillips appeared a bit leggy on the back of the Euros he is still, alongside Raphinha, one of their most crucial players and is now set to be unavailable for the next two months after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury.

The small squad means Leeds don't have much room to cope with an injury crisis and have been forced to start players out of positions. Something which didn't even work for a Liverpool side last season who were on the back of being Premier League champions the year before.

Another issue for Leeds is that much like Sheffield United last season, teams are adopting different tactics to negate their strengths.

There has been a trend of teams allowing Leeds more of the ball and, in turn, they do not have to endure the intense press for which Bielsa's sides are renowned.

Leeds are averaging 55% possession but have only scored 18 league goals in as many games - compared to 30 at the same stage last season.   

Bamford's injury problems have meant they are heavily reliant on Raphinha to come up with the goods and it will be essential for them to keep the impressive Brazilian fit for the second part of last season.

The big problem on-field for Leeds though this season is their defensive displays with only Newcastle shipping in more goals than them this season.

In recent games Leeds have appeared disjointed with players making odd decisions which led to Gary Neville describing them as an 'Under-nine team' following their 4-1 loss to Arsenal.

Bielsa opts to use a man marking system and that has got his side into trouble against the better teams in the league.

Against Arsenal, Robin Koch was dragged all over the pitch by Alexandre Lacazette which allowed the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka space to punish them.

The signs were there from the first very first game this season against Manchester United where Leeds conceded five times - with almost every goal coming down to a defensive blunder. 

Pressure is mounting on Bielsa with many pointing to Leeds' downfalls due to the manager's stubborn decision to not avert from their high-risk style of play.   

HOW CAN LEEDS FIX THEIR PROBLEMS?

Leeds will be keen to get their game against Liverpool out of the way as they will then have a more favourable run where they don't have to play any of the 'big six' until Manchester United on February 19.

Home games against current bottom-three sides Burnley and Newcastle follow soon after Liverpool, giving Leeds the chance to pull themselves away from the drop-zone.

If they fail to get results against those sides, then serious questions will be asked about Bielsa and whether he is the right man to keep them up. 

Bielsa has remained coy whenever he is asked about the January transfer window but with Phillips out for two months, Cooper on the sidelines for a period of time and other injuries, Leeds might need to consider dipping into the market.

One or two clever additions during the winter window would help, even if it is to solely allow players to revert to their preferred positions while others return to fitness. 

On the back of current form, some might suggest that the change Leeds needs to make is in the dugout with the manager.

That is not something you will hear from the majority of Leeds supporters and there is no guarantee that parting ways with Bielsa would be beneficial to the club.

They would struggle to find anyone who can get that group of players pointing in the right direction more in the short term than Bielsa.

Bielsa's methods have been shown to work in the top-flight before and if the injury curse hanging over the club can relent, Leeds should be more than capable of climbing back up the table.

But a change of mindset and approach might need to be considered - especially given their current difficult circumstances, against better teams.  

 Some of the hammerings that have been handed out this season can be pointed at the manager and his reluctance to initiate a Plan B. That is something that may be needed if they have any hope of getting results out of these clubs.

They need to find a way of being harder to play against, with teams at the moment finding it too easy to open them up. 

The onus is on Bielsa to lead his team through the current situation, and though there might be criticism currently heading in his direction, he is the best person to have in the dugout to fix their issues in the short-term.