Tony Mowbray may take an athletic approach to his team selection at Leeds United this afternoon.

Mowbray is yet to name an unchanged starting XI this season, and despite last weekend’s comeback win over Sheffield Wednesday, is again expected to shuffle his pack.

That could well be with the hosts’ style in mind, with Mowbray admitting his side will likely have to get through plenty of work off the ball against the high-flying Whites.

Not that the boss wants his side to simple sit and contain, believing there could be gaps for his side to exploit, even against a Leeds side who possess the best defensive record in the EFL.

Last season Rovers went within three injury-time minutes of recording the double over Leeds last season, only to fall to a 3-2 defeat at Elland Road having led 2-1, the same scoreline they were victorious in the Ewood meeting last October.

“I think when you play Leeds it’s a big plus if there’s an athleticism to what you do,” Mowbray said of his likely team selection.

“They ask that many questions, it’s really interesting watching them, just how much running they do with the ball and without.

“They press relentless, almost playing man for man, don’t give you a second.

“We are fully aware of what they do, maybe we can exploit the space they leave by being so positive and we have to find the best way that will help us because they will ask questions.

“We coped okay last year, we won the first game and really should have won the other and but for the three minutes of injury time we would have done.

“We don’t fear it, we look forward to it, and one come Saturday evening we can be saying it was a good day.”

When it comes to possession, only Fulham (66 per cent) have enjoyed more of the ball this season than Leeds (62.8 per cent), with Rovers currently sitting in sixth place.

Mowbray is keen to see his side develop more control in games and dominate the ball, with Rovers sixth on the list of highest possession stats from the opening 15 matches.

However, given Leeds’ superiority in that area, Mowbray concedes he may need to tinker his approach this afternoon if Rovers are to come away from Elland Road with a positive result.

Having studied the visitors’ style under Bielsa, who he described as a ‘world class coach’, Mowbray anticipates a tough challenge, but one that he doesn’t see as beyond his side.

When asked if he expects Rovers to spend a lot of time without the ball, Mowbray said: “I think you have to accept that when you play Leeds.

“When you look at all of their games, I think they’re second in the division for possession of the ball, they play forward, run forward, put a lot of men in front of the ball.

“They don’t mess around too much in their own half, they get it forward, press extremely high, hard and fast so you don’t much time on the ball.

“I don’t think it’s a day for a slow build up, we have to ask questions of them, put them on the back foot, and pick a team that we feel can do that.

“It hasn’t been plain sailing for them this year. Teams have also ran them close.

“Leeds don’t let many goals because of the pressure they put on you, they want to play the game in your half of the pitch, they push a lot of their players in to stop you playing.

“They have a way of playing that’s very good, their coach is someone who has managed at the highest level, we have to respectful that he’s a world class coach and doing exceptionally well with the group he’s got.

“It’s a game we should enjoy, go there, play with freedom to try and impose ourselves on them, enjoy the atmosphere rather than fear it and go and express ourselves and show how competitive we can be in this league.”