Marcelo Bielsa has claimed he would rather see his side playing well and finishing lower down the Premier League than playing poorly yet managing to finish higher.
Bielsa's full-throttle approach has been a breath of fresh air in the top flight this term, though his Leeds United side have suffered some big defeats while at the same time pushing some of the league's best sides close.
After beating high-flying Leicester City 3-1 on Sunday, the Whites slipped to a 2-1 home defeat to Everton on Wednesday, and now host Crystal Palace - who beat them 4-1 in the reverse fixture - on Monday.
Palace are level on points with Leeds as it stands, but Bielsa insists he is happy for his side to play in an expansive style and lose, though he acknowledges the better a side plays, the more likely they are to win.
"If you finish eighth by not playing well, for me it's worse than finishing 12th by playing well," Bielsa told a news conference, as reported by The Athletic.
"But it's also true that by playing well, it's easier to finish higher up the table."
Roy Hodgson's Palace side on the other hand are renowned for a more conservative approach, though the Eagles have only conceded one goal less than Leeds in the league this term.
In a boost to Leeds' chances, Hodgson confirmed that his star man Wilfried Zaha has sustained a hamstring injury and will be unavailable for Monday.
"We don't know how long it's going to keep him out but he certainly won't be available and it could even be much longer than that," Hodgson said.
"At this moment we don't know, because it's the early stage of the injury, it's still being assessed."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Leeds United - Kalvin Phillips
Phillips is the player that truly makes Leeds tick and he was well marshalled by Everton's midfield on Wednesday. If the England international is back at his best, Palace could be set to suffer.
Crystal Palace - Eberechi Eze
Eze has been involved in as many Premier League goals in 2021 in six appearances (two goals, one assists) as he was in 14 appearances in 2020 (one goal, two assists), though two of those were against Leeds in November, when he both scored - with a wonderful free-kick - and assisted.
KEY OPTA FACTS
•This season, Leeds striker Patrick Bamford has scored in two Premier League games against teams he's previously played for in the competition, netting against Palace and Burnley. The last player to score in three Premier League games against former teams in a season was Romelu Lukaku in 2017-18 (vs Everton, West Brom and Chelsea for Manchester United).
•Palace are looking to win three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of four between February and June 2020.
•The home team has won eight of the last 10 matches between Leeds and Crystal Palace in all competitions, with the other two ending as draws. The last away victory in this fixture was a 1-0 Palace win at Elland Road in March 2006 via a Jobi McAnuff winner.
•Leeds' Raphinha has been directly involved in four goals in his last three Premier League games (two goals, two assists), as many as he had in his first 13 in the competition (two goals, two assists).
•Leeds have not lost three consecutive home league games since October 2017, while they last did so in the Premier League in November 2003.
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