Leeds United vs. Fulham Preview: Three questions with Through It All Together

We sat down with Through It All Together to discuss the changes at Leeds United, expectations for the season, and what might just happen in this match.

Cottagers Confidential: You have a new owner, a new coach, and it appears that a pretty high percentage of the team was turned over. Is this a good thing, or something you are worried about? Fulham showed last year that a complete team turnover can lead to a successful season, but they were starting from a much different place than Leeds was after last year.

Through It All Together: The team has brought in a lot of new players, but most of the key players have remained at the team. The team has added a number of youth players and has added depth and options, something that previous manager really never seemed to have the luxury of having. For example, Leeds signed former Newcastle midfielder/defender Vurnon Anita, who started at RB most of the season for Newcastle, but he's only been used as a fill-in option so far for the Leeds.

As for a new owner and new coach, the new owner has been wonderful for the team. He's already done more in about two months than most Leeds owners post-Ridsdale did combined. The team feels like it's being run as a proper football club again, after years of dysfunction that always seemed to play out in the press. Garry Monk left after a good season because he didn't want to work for a Director of Football, and so he went to Middlesbrough and their parachute payments. Thomas Christiansen, the new "head coach" at Leeds is a young, upcoming manager who was brought up in the youth system at Barcelona as a footballer and had led APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus to a very good place in the Europa League as a manager last season.

It's a fun time to be a Leeds fan right now, but fans are nervous because they've seen this movie before, and they hope it's different this time.

CC: Are there any newcomers that we should specifically look out for? Is there anyone who left who you feel is going to be a big loss?

TIAT: Gianni Alioski and Samu Saiz, both attackers, have been good so far for Leeds. Both of them shone brightly in the League Cup match against Port Vale, with Saiz getting a hat-trick on his debut for the club after moving from Spain in the summer transfer window. Alioski came from FC Lugano, where he scored 16 goals from the wing in the Swiss Super League. The only downfall with bringing in players from other leagues is that a lot of players aren't necessarily used to the physical nature and "just let them play" nature of the Championship and the refereeing.

The only true first XI losses that Leeds had were centreback Kyle Bartley, who was recalled to parent club Swansea City after his loan expired, and fullback Charlie Taylor, who left for Burnley. The club has managed to hang on to almost all of the other players that had significant playing time last season, and they have also added a number of quality signings to the side. The team still needs another CB, although before getting injured on opening day, Everton loanee Matthew Pennington was fantastic. No official word on how long he will be out

CC: Who are your picks for promotion? The playoffs? Relegation?

TIAT: Before the season I picked Fulham, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday to go up, and I picked Bristol City, Millwall, Burton Albion to go down. I think that Wednesday will come through the playoffs, with Wolverhampton, Nottingham Forest, and Middlesbrough all falling short.

CC: Predicted lineup and score?

TIAT: Score will be 2-1 Leeds. This team just needs a little more sharpness in front of goal, as they have continued to create chances although not all of them have fallen so far. Might as well be against Fulham in midweek for a couple of them to go in.

Lineup (4-2-3-1): Felix Wiedwald;Luke Ayling, Pontus Jansson, Liam Cooper, Cameron-Borthwick Jackson; Ronaldo Vieira, Eunan O'Kane; Stuart Dallas, Samu Saiz, Gianni Alioski; Chris Wood