Leeds United vs Chelsea: United fighting for survival against a Chelsea team in poor form
- Chris Brannan
- 11 May 2022
There is much at stake for both clubs when Chelsea visit Elland Road to face Leeds.
Leeds face the first of three fixtures that will shape their Premier League future on Wednesday night.
One point from a possible nine coupled with an upturn in fortunes for Burnley and Everton saw Jesse Marsch's side drop into the bottom three on goal difference at the weekend.
The visit of third-placed Chelsea is not as daunting as it might have been earlier in the season, however, with Thomas Tuchel's men having picked up just five points from their last five Premier League fixtures.
When: Wednesday, May 11, 19:30 BST
Where: Elland Road
How to watch: Sky Sports Premier League
Who is the ref for Leeds vs Chelsea
Anthony Taylor will be the man taking charge.
It will be the third time Taylor has refereed a Leeds game this season. The last occasion was a 1-1 draw with Southampton which yielded a booking apiece.
Chelsea will see the 43-year-old take charge for a fifth time this season - more than any other team Taylor has officiated. The most notable of these was the 1-1 draw at Liverpool at the start of the season which saw Reece James sent off for handling the ball on the goal-line.
Season stats 2021/22: All matches (24), yellows (90), reds (4), penalties (8)
Recent form
Already 2-0 down to an Eddie Nketiah double, Leeds looked in real danger at Arsenal when Luke Ayling was red-carded mid-way through the first half.
However, Jesse Marsch's side rallied after the break, clawing a goal back through Diego Llorente and threatening to grab an unlikely draw.
It followed on from a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Man City - their tenth successive game at Elland Road without a clean sheet.
Prior to that, though, they had strung together a five-game unbeaten run.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have only picked up four wins from their last 10 games in all competitions which contrasts markedly with nine wins from their previous ten.
Last time out, Conor Coady's 97th-minute equaliser saw Wolves fight back from 2-0 down to earn a draw at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues kicked off the month with defeat at Everton. However, their away form had been strong going into the game with 13 points from a possible 15 including a 6-0 thrashing of Southampton.
Leeds and Chelsea players in form
Illan Meslier has been one of Leeds' top performers this season and will be looking to put his costly mistake against Arsenal behind him.
He will face £97.5million striker Romelu Lukaku who found the back of the net twice against Wolves - the Belgian's first Premier League goals since December.
Chelsea will also be looking to Reece James and Mason Mount who have a combined 30 goal involvements this season.
Previous meetings
Chelsea 3-2 Leeds United (December 11, 2021)
The home side edged a five-goal thriller, including three penalties, the last time the two sides met.
Raphinha scored from the spot to put Leeds in front after Marcos Alonso's clumsy challenge on Dan James.
Mason Mount levelled it before half-time and Jorginho put the home side ahead after the break, converting a penalty awarded after Raphinha's challenge on Antonio Rudiger.
Teenager Joe Gelhardt scored with his first touch in the 83rd minute to restore parity only for Chelsea to steal the three points in injury time. Rudiger was again the injured party, with Mateusz Klich giving away a spot-kick which was again scored by Jorginho.
Leeds United 0-0 Chelsea (March 13, 2021)
German Kai Havertz squandered two good chances for Chelsea, while Tyler Roberts' chip was pushed onto the crossbar by Edouard Mendy at the other end as the game ended goalless.
Chelsea 3-1 Leeds United (December 5, 2020)
Chelsea bounced back from conceding an early goal to former Blues striker Patrick Bamford to run out comfortable winners.
Bamford's fourth-minute strike was cancelled out by Olivier Giroud in the 27th minute before second-half goals from Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic.
Past meetings
Leeds United wins: 2
Draws: 3
Chelsea wins: 5
Managers' thoughts
Predicted Leeds United vs Chelsea teams
With Luke Ayling suspended for three games following his red card challenge on Gabriel Martinelli and Stuart Dallas out with a broken leg, we could see last week's goalscorer Llorente move to the right-hand side of the defence. This would allow Patrick Struijk to come in at centre-back.
Possible Leeds United starting line-up: Meslier, Llorente, Struik, Koch, Firpo, Klich, Phillips, Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison, Geldhart
Thomas Tuchel may opt to rest some of his key players with an FA Cup final against Liverpool coming three days later, allowing Trevor Chalobah and Saul some rare game-time.
Possible Chelsea starting line-up: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Rudiger, James, Saul, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso, Mount, Werner, Lukaku.
Leeds United vs Chelsea prediction
Neither side will be confident of keeping a clean sheet. However, Chelsea appear to have the stronger firepower, even allowing for the FA Cup final-enforced changes.
Expect a 2-1 win for the visitors, further intensifying the pressure on the relegation-threatened home side.
