Read Ralf's matchday Q&A

And you can read the German's full Q&A with Stewart Gardner below, as he discusses Victor Lindelof's return to the side, the key team news, fierce rivalries in Germany and more...

Ralf if we could just start with the team news, if you could tell us who’s available, who’s not for the weekend?
“Well after today’s training, the good news is that Nemanja Matic was training for the first time after a couple of days, more than a week of not being able to train. So that’s good news. The bad news is that Edinson Cavani was not able to train again, he still has some problems with his groin and with his stomach. So, as it looks right now, he will not be part of the group against Leeds, and we have to see how it develops until the game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. Tom Heaton also has some problems with his stomach but all the other players, according to today’s training session, are available.”

Raphael Varane missed the game against Brighton. Obviously, there are some really big games coming up, Sunday and Wednesday, and then Saturday. Will you have to make some rotations in those games?
“Possibly, yes. Maybe for Wednesday or Saturday but not so much physically for Sunday’s game because the last game was on Tuesday, so five days between Tuesday and Sunday, I don’t think that it will be necessary to rest some players for the Leeds game. What we will do, we will try to play the best possible team to win the game at Leeds, and then again we do the same for the game against Atletico on Wednesday.”

Victor Lindelof came in at very late notice the other night and helped us keep a clean sheet against Brighton. I just wondered what you could say about his performance and character? I suppose it’s not easy coming in with very little notice and very little preparation time?
“Yes, but I told him an hour before kick-off that this might happen, and five minutes later when it became obvious that Rapha couldn’t play, I told him: ‘Listen you’re going to play’. He’s a top professional and he did well before he was ill and before he had the incident with his house. For me, from now on he will play, and he is also a candidate to play so we have enough players in the centre of defence who can play with a high amount of experience. In the end it’s the players themselves who decide who is going to play on the next game.”

It's going to be a really hot atmosphere at Elland Road on Sunday, are you prepared for what’s going to face us?
“Well I’m prepared yes, but it’s not so important if I’m prepared, it is more important that the players are. I’m sure they are. We have a high level of experience in the team, and it won’t be the first time that they have a sold-out stadium against a team where the supporters don’t like us that much. I didn’t know until a week ago that this is one of the biggest rivalries in the Premier League, I thought it would rather be Liverpool or Manchester City, but that doesn’t matter. For us, it is an important game for both teams, Leeds need points in the relegation battle, and we need points in the race for the fourth place. For both teams it is an important one, and in the end, it is a question of who has more energy, who is more disciplined on the pitch and whose game plan is the better one. I think we are fully aware of what kind of football they are playing, very direct, very much with the give and go and a lot of fast players up front. On the other hand, we also know that they conceded quite a few goals this season and this is what we have to take advantage of, that we hopefully create enough chances in transitional moments in order to, in the end, win the game.”

I just wondered in your career, what was the fiercest atmosphere or rivalry you faced in your time?
“I mean with Schalke, the local derby against Borussia Dortmund was, and is probably still the biggest derby. Unfortunately, Schalke have been relegated to the second division in Germany but in my time, my two spells at Schalke, those two games were the most important games at least for the supporters of both clubs. With Stuttgart, there was also a local derby with Karlsruher for example. So we had quite a few local derbies, with Leipzig and with Hoffenheim, those two clubs they were not liked at all so for us every away game was like a fierce fight with a high level of emotion. For me this is not a big issue, but it is important what happens on the pitch, it’s not so important what comes from the stands or what we expected even on the way from the hotel to the stadium. Important is what happens between the first and the 95th, 96th minute on the pitch.”

It has been noticeable that Bruno and Paul Pogba have a good chemistry on the pitch, I think that is shown by the stats of the goals they have combined for, it is the best in the Premier League this season. How pleased are you that they are meshing well in the midfield area?
“To start with, it is good and important to have Paul back again and available. But obviously we have a high level of competition still, we have Fred, so we have enough players, we have Jesse Lingard in good shape in training, so we still have a high level of competition in each area of the field, of the pitch: be it the backline, the midfield or up front. So right now, it is not easy to decide and choose the right players, but it is better this way, than having only 15 or 16 of on field players available.”

We are still unbeaten away from home since you took over, and fans are going to be really up for the next two trips, and the ones to come next month as well. How important is their support in these stadiums when they’re a full house?
“I mean, I must say quite apart from Schalke at the time, but what I have experienced so far in England, it’s just amazing. It is absolutely fantastic. It is as though you play with a 12th or 13th player. Massive support from the supporters, this is still one of the biggest assets the club has. The passion and the way that the supporters really are behind our team and behind our club is a big advantage to us. We have to take out of the advantage the best that we can get, by showing them on the pitch that we are committed, that we are desperate to win the games, that we meet their expectations. I mean, what they really want to see on the pitch is our energy, our togetherness and this is what I said this is the only thing that we have to deliver every single day, no matter what competition. That they realise how much every player wants to win and get the best for their club.”

You’re an innovative coach. Do you ever sometimes consider playing players in new positions to provide fresh options? You sort of did that with [Alex] Telles when he came on the other night. Do you consider that among your options as well?
“Well yes, but this decision had to do with the result. With only 10 minutes to play against a team that was down to 10 men. For me it was just about making sure that we get the clean sheet and get the three points. In the end it paid off, it was in the end the right decision, but you never know, this is what football is all about. Other teams and coaches change their teams and formations during the game, this is what happened for example against Southampton, then we changed again, they changed. It’s a little bit like a game of chess. This is what makes football so interesting, you always have to be alert, always watching what they’re doing, what should be our best possible reaction to that, this is what it’s all about. I still believe that it is important that you try as a coach to play each player in his best position, and again, you need to know what is important when you are in possession of the ball, what do you have to do if the other team is in possession? Against Leeds it will be a completely different game, a completely different challenge from the last two games we played at home against Southampton and Brighton because their style of football is almost the opposite, it is completely different from what Southampton and Brighton were trying to do.”