10th February 7:30pm | Stamford Bridge
Leeds United travel down to South West London on Tuesday evening to face Chelsea, with the goal of completing a league double over the Blues for the first time since their 1991-92 title-winning campaign. Chelsea boast an impressive record against the Whites at Stamford Bridge, remaining unbeaten in their last seven Premier League matches, with six consecutive wins and a draw. The last time Chelsea suffered a defeat at the hands of Leeds was in December 1999, when Stephen McPhail's brace secured a 2-0 win for the visitors.
Despite the challenging task ahead, Leeds boss Daniel Farke remains optimistic, highlighting the importance of staying emotionally level when facing big-name teams. In his pre-match press conference, Farke emphasised the need for a calm and composed leader, stating, "The fire is burning inside, and I am a pretty emotional person. But if you want to be a manager at this level, you can't jump around on the sidelines or in a press conference.
The players need a proper leader who they know they can trust, who stays balanced and calm." Farke also acknowledged that his team cannot always expect to beat top teams like Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea, but expressed confidence in his team's ability to compete. In terms of team news, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ilia Gruev are expected to be fit for the match, while Pascal Struijk and Anton Stach (both groin issues) will miss out.
Farke provided an update on Struijk's condition, stating, "Pascal was a rock in the last weeks. He is the only left-footed centre-back, and if you play with three at the back, it makes a difference. His strength in the air, in the last game, he won so many headers. It is not ideal to not have him available." Farke also expressed his confidence in his team's ability to perform on the road, saying, "It is still the same game, same rules, 11 v 11. You feel more comfortable at home, but it's still the same game. We travel with confidence, belief, and if we perform well, we know we have a chance on the road."
Farke reflected on Leeds' win over Chelsea in December, which marked a turning point in their season. He stated, "Each time we win, it's a pivotal game. There was no turning point. We had wins before, at home and on the road. One thing is for sure, it was a top performance and fully deserved win. Days like this don't come that often, that you are able to dominate one of the big names." However, Farke cautioned that the win will not give his team an advantage in the upcoming match, saying, "This result won't help us tomorrow. They may want to show a reaction, and we maybe need to be more on it."
When asked about the points tally needed to stay in the Premier League, Farke downplayed the importance of setting a specific target, stating, "It doesn't matter if I change my assessment of how many points we need. It's not like if we achieve 38 points, we want to stop winning points. In general, the data and stats say one point average per game you will stay up. If it's one out of 20 seasons or whatever where you need more points, then we need more points. I am not too concentrated on doing maths. I am concentrated on winning football games."
Farke also praised the form of Ilia Gruev, saying, "He was always a very reliable player for us. You always get a seven-out-of-10 performance from him. He has a really good defensive awareness, tactically spot on, covers more than 12km every game, and helps us with reliability in passing. He is an important player for us and going forward." Additionally, Farke welcomed the return of Dan James, who has been out injured for eight and a half weeks, saying, "It's good we have him back. He was out for relatively long, and even before it was on and off for him in terms of injury. He is a very experienced player, knows his body, and what he has to do. He came back in good shape."
Meanwhile, Chelsea will be looking to build on their recent wins over Brentford, Crystal Palace, and West Ham, as well as their 3-1 victory over Wolves, courtesy of a Cole Palmer hat-trick. The Blues will be hoping to have club captain Reece James available for the match, who has missed the last two games due to injury. However, Tosin Adarabioyo (hamstring), Levi Colwill (ACL), Romeo Lavia (muscle), Dario Essugo (thigh), and Jamie Gittens (hamstring) will all miss out
