Leeds United are ramping up their preparations for the 2019/20 campaign, with Whites players gearing up for their first pre-season friendlies this week.
Marcelo Bielsa is set to begin his sophomore season with United at Elland Road as he hopes to take them one step further than last year and achieve promotion to the Premier League.
The majority of the squad have two weeks of intense pre-season training under their belts and fans will get to see Bielsa's 2019-20 vintage in action this week, when the Whites head to York City and Guiseley.
That will be followed by the tour to Australia, where Manchester United and Western Sydney Wanderers will provide the opposition and a trip to Italy to face Cagliari the weekend before the new Championship season begins.
Leeds were active in the transfer market last week, with Helder Costa the headline arrival, as Bielsa looks to nail down a settled squad before the squad head Down Under next weekend.
But what can fans take away from last season's pre-season campaign as pointers for how United will prepare for another tilt at the Championship title?
Full-strength workouts for the first team
Bielsa pulled absolutely no punches in his first game in charge, fielding a strong squad against Forest Green Rovers last July which emerged as 2-1 winners.
Virtually all of his starting XI would go on to feature in other games, against Southend United and Las Palmas, with several senior players rubbing shoulders with academy stars against York City, Oxford United and Guiseley.
Indeed, all but two would make 25 appearances for the club with only Gaetano Berardi (through injury) and Samu Saiz (who left midway through the season) failing to meet that threshold.
As such, it won't be too surprising if the Argentine fields key names against the Minstermen or Lions before bigger tests in Australia.
Chances for young guns to shine
United's regular first-teamers weren't the only ones gited the opportunity to impress too, with Bielsa electing to field young teams in several of his encounters, in order to assess the quality of his academy pool.
Plenty of youngsters showcased their skills in these games and several, including Jack Clarke and Jamie Shackleton, were rewarded with regular places among the matchday squads come the 2018/19 campaign.
Others, like Tom Pearce and Leif Davis, received intermittent call-ups to the senior side after impressing in these games too.
Expect plenty of fresh blood to feature, especially in the first two games, and for those who travel to Australia, there'll be little shocking about them featuring against Western Sydney Wanderers in the second game in New South Wales.
New players and formations?
Leeds' early-July blitz in the transfer market means some new faces should be on show this week.
Helder Costa is likely to slot straight in on the flank, which could see Pablo Hernandez move inside. Ben White is another new face that will no doubt get plenty of minutes under his belt before the new campaign starts.
In addition, Bielsa could theoretically road-test any different formations to the 4-1-4-1 he theoretically set up in last season, though Leeds often migrated into a 3-3-1-3 line-up.
With two key strikers in Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford likely to share a rare period of joint fitness, he will be keen to find an approach to maximise his firepower up front.
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