Leeds at their best are frightening.
They attack at pace, press high, hound and unsettle sides and, physically supremely fit, can keep going for an hour and a half.
It is all part of a high-risk policy by an eccentric manager Marcelo Bielsa who sits on a bucket and occasionally kicks it sacrificing points on a matter of principle.
He works differently to most other managers operating in this country.
Bielsa takes a big chance preferring a small tight-knit squad which meant Leeds appeared in trouble when they went into their Premier League match at West Ham with nine players out and before half an hour had gone lost another two.
Yet such is their vitality that they swamped a side fourth top of the Premier League and deservedly beat them in a pulsating contest.
Whatsmore Leeds did it without their two big hitters of last season Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford.
Such has been their injury crisis that Leeds have become the first club in PL history to give EIGHT teenagers their debuts in a single season.
Victory against all odds took them a significant 10 points ahead of Newcastle and almost out of sight.
The Magpies are next up on Saturday of course when Leeds' lightning-quick high pressers can cause a problem for one pacers like Jonjo Shelvey and, yes, new signing Chris Wood.
They will be hurried and overrun if not somehow protected.
Shelvey's place would be under threat if only judged on recent performances, though Eddie Howe admires his passing range, but Wood will be played after a £25m outlay to try and solve a problem up top.
The question now is not whether United need to buy again but how many. They are currently ill-equipped to turn round a sinking season.
More money desperately needs to be spent, especially on centre defence, and with more immediate impact than Wood had against Watford. Time is no longer a friend more an enemy as repeated opportunities run out.
While fans wait anxiously for news of a further breakthrough in the transfer market there have been more fallers than in the Grand National. New faces have been proposed and then either club or player have turned a cold shoulder.
Two signings failed to bring victory in two home matches against extremely modest opposition which has only heightened apprehension and dowsed enthusiasm.
Eddie Howe needs help and needs to help himself.
Of course when Leeds are not on blob they can be brittle as proved by their record of conceding 39 goals in their 20 PL matches. That provides a smidgeon of light if not assurance to any team capable of taking advantage.
Indeed this is a Premier League match between the Great Giveaways.
Newcastle have dropped more points from winning positions, 21, than any other top-flight club this season. Leeds are third having done it 15 times.
The Yorkshire United, who either win well or are well beaten, have some gems. While Phillips and Bamford are England internationals and Jack Harrison scored a winning hat-trick at West Ham perhaps the real shining light is Raphinha, a 25-year-old Brazilian who at £18m must be one of the best PL buys ever.
Technically superb, he has exceptional vision and pace, a real desire, and is lethal on set pieces.
Raphinha is the heartbeat of this enterprising Leeds side.
If keeping the home stars out is a real poser for a leaky visiting defence then cashing in at t'other end is just as problematic especially without Callum Wilson.
The hope is that new boy Wood, who used to perform very effectively for Leeds in the Championship scoring 41 times in 83 appearances, can get off the mark a division up while Allan Saint-Maximin could do with opening his goal account away from headquarters. All five of his strikes have been in front of the faithful but he carries most weight despite his annoying tendency to over-elaborate.
Is he a problem solver or part of the problem?
United's pathetic record of one victory in 20 attempts already spells relegation. Only once has a team escaped having such a paltry return at the season's halfway stage and that required an eye-watering turnaround in results. Are Newcastle capable of it? On current evidence there is only one answer.
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