Smarting from one disappointment in the League Cup, Chelsea have to dust themselves in time for their FA Cup game against Leeds United. Hosting this 5th round FA Cup game at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will be keen on a fourth win in five meetings with Leeds United. Chelsea are coming from a dramatic League Cup final which they lost 1-0 to Liverpool. With their league struggles, the FA Cup seems like their only chance for silverware this season. The Blues will want to book another trip to Wembley to address the shortage seen against an injury-stricken Liverpool. It was Chelsea’s third loss in a run of six matches, while they have just two wins in seven games. In the last round, Chelsea had to face Aston Villa in a replay after drawing 0-0 at home. They eventually won 3-2 to book their place here. A lengthy injury list isn’t helping matters for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Thiago Silva missed the League Cup final with a groin injury while Marc Cucurella, Recce James and Romeo Lavia are also out.
Leeds United take into this game a good run of form and will be keen to end their struggles against Chelsea. In their last 10 meetings with Chelsea, they’ve managed just one win. The last time they faced off, Leeds United ended up 1-0 losers at this same venue a year ago. Coming into this game, Leeds United have a great run off a great season in the Championship. They are favorites for automatic promotion and will fancy a faceoff with a Premier League side. The Whites are coming from a morale boosting comeback to beat leaders Leicester City 3-1 in the Championship. All of their three goals came in a 10-minute blitz, with former Chelsea man Patrick Bamford scoring the third. While Bamford pushes for a start here, Pascal Struijk will be unavailable. That win sent Leeds on a 12-game unbeaten run, with 11 wins. Six straight wins coming here will place Leeds on a very confident pedestal and they’ll be justified to feel like favorites. Daniel Farke’s side also has a six-game winning streak away from home.
Chelsea are smarting from defeat in the League Cup, where they had to endure 120 long minutes before falling to Liverpool. That loss was another marker to their already poor season, and Leeds United will want to take advantage here. The visitors may have struggled in this fixture, but they carry to this game a great run. In their last 12 matches they are unbeaten and have six straight away wins. Based on recent form, our prediction for Chelsea v Leeds United is for Leeds United to win.