CHELSEA will host Championship high flyers Leeds in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night.
The Blues suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday after a last-gasp goal in extra time from Liverpool’s skipper Virgil van Dijk.
However, they will be looking to immediately bounce back on Wednesday in their FA Cup clash against Daniel Farke’s Premier League-chasing Leeds side.
The last time Chelsea was in action in the FA Cup, they recorded an impressive 3-1 away win against Aston Villa, with Enzo Fernandez scoring an absolute peach of a freekick.
This may not prove to be a straightforward game for Poch’s men as Leeds have been on an incredible recent run of form, including a 3-1 win vs Championship leaders Leicester.
The Whites’s recent win vs Leicester now means they have won nine league games in a row, which has massively boosted their hopes for a return to the Premier League – and has potentially opened up the title race as they only sit 6 points behind the Foxes.
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In Chelsea and Leeds’s most recent game (4 March 2023), Chelsea came out narrow winners with a 1-0 result thanks to Wesley Fofana, but in the earlier game last season, Leeds thumped the Blues 3-0.
Team News
Chelsea are going into this match fresh off the back 120 minutes against Liverpool, so it’s very likely changes will be made.
Trevoh Chalobah could be granted a place in the starting lineup, while Robert Sanchez may be recalled to start between the sticks.
Christopher Nkunku should expect to play from the start, while Alfie Gilchrist will also hope to play from the first whistle.
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Carney Chukwuemeka, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Marc Cucurella will all miss out through injury, with Thiago Silva remaining a doubt.
In Leeds’ previous two FA Cup ties, Farke went for strong lineups with three or four changes to the normal team – and it seems like he’ll stick with that trend here.
Dan James or Jaiden Anthony will be likely to come into the starting lineup, whilst Patrick Bamford could look to replace Joel Piroe in strike.
Sam Byram, Pascal Struijk, Stuart Dallas, and Karl Darlow are all out injured.
Players to watch
Cole Palmer failed to make a real impact in last Sunday’s League Cup final but won’t be shy of trying to add himself back to the goal sheet against Leeds.
The Chelsea youngster has an impressive 14 goals and 9 assists in 33 games this season, however, he has none in the FA Cup so he will be looking to change that ahead of Wednesday’s game.
Leeds’ most threatening player this season looks to be Crysencio Summerville.
He has managed to accumulate 16 goals and 9 assists this season in just 33 games, with him scoring in their last FA Cup tie, which was a replay match against Plymouth Argyle.
When is Chelsea vs Leeds?
- Chelsea’s game with Leeds will take place on Wednesday, February 28.
- The game will kick off at 7.30 pm GMT.
- Chelsea vs Leeds will held at Stamford Bridge.
What channel is it on and can it be live streamed FREE?
- Chelsea vs Leeds will be shown on ITV4 in the UK.
- You can live stream the action FREE from the ITVX app, which is available to download on your mobile or tablet device.
- Alternatively, you can keep up to date with the match by following SunSport’s live blog.
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What are the odds?
- Chelsea – 4/7
- Draw – 16/5
- Leeds – 9/2
*Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes and are correct at the time of publication.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
