One of the ties of the FA Cup fifth round, Leeds head to London on Wednesday night with the two sides going through two very different states of emotion.
The visitors are flying high, currently on a nine game winning streak in the Championship, a run punctuated only by two draws in the FA Cup fourth round against Plymouth - the second of which they came through convincingly after extra time.
The most recent win came on Friday night with an exhilarating comeback from 1-0 down to beat Championship leaders Leicester 3-1 in the final 10 minutes, a game which has breathed new life into the title race and put Leeds in pole position for automatic promotion.
It is the nature of that win that means there is a real feel-good feeling around the Leeds squad at the moment that could prove tricky for rivals Chelsea, and with just 10 places in the football pyramid separating the two sides, it is not a hugely mismatched tie.
The EFL Cup final on Sunday is proof of that, as Chelsea’s ‘billion pound bottle jobs’ as Gary Neville memorably labelled them, came unstuck against a scratch Liverpool team.
That 1-0 defeat at Wembley after extra time has the potential to totally derail a campaign that was already veering well off the tracks for Mauricio Pochettino, but another could be almost irreparable.
The positive for Pochettino to take are from the performances of his players in the regular 90 minutes, when they were the better side and should have put the game to bed.
However with the mentality of the squad called into question, there will be a huge spotlight on them to get back to winning ways at the first time of asking.
What could be a boost to Chelsea is the news that Patrick Bamford, Crycensio Summerville and Georginio Rutter are unlikely to make the trip due to knocks, although so far in the cup run Daniel Farke has been keen to rest key players when the opportunity arrises.
With a rotated side likely to be put out on the park, it could be a slightly more comfortable evening for Chelsea than they might have anticipated.
Chelsea vs Leeds Betting Tip
With Leeds likely to field a much-changed side in order to prioritise the Championship run-in, and Chelsea likely to see the FA Cup as their priority for the rest of the season, we think they will be able to overpower the visitors.
However Leeds have dangerous players high on confidence, and they could cause problems for the hosts with at least one goal scored.
And with it being a rivalry built on years of bitterness between supporters, there should be a little bit of bite in the match with over 39.5 booking points a good shout. A red card might not be the biggest surprise in this one.
Chelsea vs Leeds Betting Tip
Christopher Nkunku should be given more minutes in this one, after coming off the bench at Wembley on Sunday and looking dangerous but rusty. If he is given a start, we think he will be a huge threat to the Leeds defence which could see a few changes in it.
Liam Cooper is one of the players who could come in at the heart of the back four. If Farke chooses to rest Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu, Cooper will be first in line to come in and he has struggled against pace in recent years so could find himself exposed to the pace of the Chelsea attack.
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