Coming from Elland Road, this tie should be an entertaining one, with Leeds only keeping 2 clean sheets in the last 27 matches and with Chelsea completing an entire season of not going behind before half-time, this game could really open up in the second half, especially as Rodrigo has scored 7 of his last 9 goals in the second half.
Leeds will surely be disappointed after throwing away a 2-goal lead at Southampton to draw 2-2, Rodrigo scored both within the first 15 minutes of the second half, leaving The Saints to score twice late on and the spoils then being shared. Leeds beat Wolves 2-1 in their week 1 victory, so will look to keep their home record intact, and without Ayling, Dallas and the injured again Bamford it’ll be made all the more difficult.
Chelsea’s start to the campaign came with a 0-1 win away at Everton courtesy of a Jorginho penalty, and they’ll be kicking themselves that they didn’t take all 3 points, conceding a 96th-minute Kane equaliser in a controversial match against Spurs that ended 2-2 with both managers being sent to the stands, so that’ll be where Tuchel will have to observe this game from.
With Leeds having a 16-year absence from PL football, recent H2Hs have been few and far between, but having played each other 28 times in PL history and with Leeds holding a record of (W8, D9, L11) we can say it should be a well fought encounter with the final result being far from a foregone conclusion. Since 2020 they’ve met 4 times, with Chelsea securing 3 wins and a draw and scoring 9 times in the process.
Key stats
* No Leeds win in last 8 H2Hs
* Only 30% BTTS over last 20 H2Hs
* Only 2 clean sheets for Leeds in past 27 matches
* Leeds won 1 of last 10 H2Hs
* Chelsea have scored 14 times against Leeds in previous 5 games
I’m intrigued to see how Leeds shape up this year as last season they only survived by the skin of their teeth and having sold their best 2 players and not replacing them with proven PL players I’m extremely sceptical and fear for their survival. Leading me to believe that Chelsea will walk away with the 3 points. I’d go for a bore draw but I think The Blues will steal a lead and pinch it 0-1. Sterling would be my bet to get the only goal.
