Abdulhafiz TeslimSomething interesting happened in midweek that Newcastle United fans may want to pay close attention to ahead of Monday night’s Premier League trip.
While one side was fighting through a chaotic cup tie, several important players were being carefully managed with the bigger picture clearly in mind.
That could now have a major impact on what happens when Newcastle arrive at Elland Road.
The Magpies travel to Yorkshire looking to continue their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. Matthias Jaissle’s side have already shown encouraging signs, collecting a win and two draws from their opening three league matches.
But their opponents have also started the campaign without defeat.
And that makes the latest development from the opposition camp particularly interesting.
The hosts were involved in a dramatic Carabao Cup third-round match in midweek, suffering a 6-3 defeat after initially taking a two-goal lead.
Tarik Muharemovic and Brenden Aaronson put the home side in control before the game completely changed after half-time.
Chelsea responded with four goals in just 12 minutes, with Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Morgan Rogers making a huge difference after coming onto the pitch.
Palmer scored twice to bring the game level before Neto put Chelsea ahead.
Danny Welbeck then added another, while Rogers played a key role by providing assists during the turnaround.
The opposition manager responded with a series of substitutions, but a late Dominic Calvert-Lewin goal was not enough.
Two more Chelsea goals eventually settled the contest.
However, Newcastle supporters may be more interested in what happened before the match than the final score.
The Leeds boss made eight changes to his starting XI, with several regular first-team players given a rest.
Only Muharemovic, Ethan Ampadu and James Justin kept their places from the Premier League side that had drawn 1-1 with Brighton just days earlier.
Several key names were either brought on during the second half or kept on the bench altogether.
That includes Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach, Noah Okafor, Ao Tanaka and Gabriel Gudmundsson, while James Trafford, Nico Elvedi and Jayden Bogle were also left among the substitutes.
It appears the focus was always going to be on Monday’s Premier League encounter.
And that is where Newcastle come into the picture.
Jaissle also rotated his team for the cup, but only three changes were made for the 1-0 victory over Millwall.
Jacob Murphy, Jacob Ramsey and Fabian Schar came into the starting XI, with Anthony Elanga, Lewis Miley and Malick Thiaw dropping out.
The difference in the amount of rotation could now become significant.
Newcastle have already picked up a 2-0 away victory against Tottenham this season, while their other league matches have produced draws against Liverpool and Bournemouth.
Their opponents opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory away at Nottingham Forest before drawing 1-1 against Brentford and Brighton.
So neither side has suffered a Premier League defeat yet.
There is another reason for Newcastle to be confident, too.
The last two meetings between these teams at Elland Road have both ended in draws.
That means Jaissle’s men will be hoping to go one step further this time and return to Tyneside with all three points.
The midweek team selection may have given Newcastle an important clue about the plans of their opponents.
Now, the real question is whether Jaissle can take advantage of it.
Monday night could provide another major test of Newcastle’s progress under their new head coach — and after what happened in midweek, fans will certainly be watching the opposition team sheet very closely.
Abdulhafiz Teslim
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