Tottenham Hotspur vs Leeds United: 4 key battles | Premier League 2021-22

#3 Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham) vs Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United)

Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur - Carabao Cup Round of 16

The midfield is vital to Leeds United's playstyle as well as to Tottenham's and that makes this battle all the more important to the teams.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has played every minute of every game for Tottenham this season and is a vital cog in their machine. With three tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game, he is in charge of stealing the ball in the middle and letting Tottenham switch to attack.

Kalvin Phillips is not far behind, with 2.4 tackles and one interception in every game in the Leeds midfield. He also has a very physical style of play, as evident from his 2.5 fouls committed in every game.

If Tottenham are to control the game, this is one where they want Hojbjerg to shine, which he usually does. But how he will size up against someone who is an enforcer like Phillips remains to be seen.

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#4 Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United) vs Antonio Conte (Tottenham)

Everton v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

In many ways, the fight between Leeds United and Tottenham is a fight between the two managers. Both of them could not hold more opposing philosophies of football if they tried.

On the one hand, there is Antonio Conte who could be the poster child of pragmatic football. He doesn't play defensive football but is practical. He believed in drilled hunkering down on players and then attacking when the time comes.

Meanwhile, there is Bielsa and his stubborn endorsement of the beautiful way of playing football, ever fluid and ever attacking. A football that prioritizes the entertainment it offers the fans who have given away their hand earned money and deserve to watch something worth it.

But at the core of it, they are the same - managers who expect the players who play for them to give it everything they have. No separation of labor. Everyone does everything in their socialist utopia of football.

And when they face each other for the first time ever on Sunday, it is a clash of two views of football. They are structurally different but have the same - entertaining, enterprising and efficient football.