A long-standing rivalry returns on Wednesday evening, as Chelsea Football Club travel to West Yorkshire to take on Leeds United under the lights of Elland Road.
The Whites will be looking to flip the script, having last played the Blues in a FA Cup fifth round game which saw our upcoming visitors win the game late on in a match played between teams a division apart.
Leeds’ top goal scorer Lukas Nmecha has scored in three straight games for the Whites, and summer signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin also fired in on the weekend. Daniel Farke's side are currently 18th in the standings after the first 13 matches, 13 points behind third placed Chelsea, who will be aiming to close to current leaders Arsenal at the top of the table, with whom they drew 1-1 Sunday.
Our next opponents are among the serious title contenders this season, with wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the league, along with a recent win over Barcelona in the Champions League. They lead the Premier League in expected goals this season and trail only Arsenal and Man City in goal differential. However, in the draw with Arsenal, key midfielder Moises Caicedo saw red and will be suspended for this encounter.
Over the decades, there have been many memorable, often fiery encounters between the Whites and the Blues dating back to their first face-off in 1927. The 1960s and 70s saw the two sides square off again and again in the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Leeds and Chelsea have met one another 103 times competitive, with the Whites winning 38 and drawing 28 of those matches. Most memorably in recent times, United beat the Blues 3-0 in 2022 in our last Elland Road match, with Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison on the scoresheet.
Action from Elland Road gets underway at 8:15pm and you can follow it all across leedsunited.com, as well as on LUTV.
A memorable meeting:
Team News:
Daniel Farke as always has given an update on the fitness of his squad for the home fixture. You can read more here.
How to follow:
Look out for our guide on how to watch the pre-match show, listen to commentary, or where you can watch the game live around the world! This will be on leedsunited.com on the day of the game.
Important supporter information:
Discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable and you could be breaking the law. The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.
To report an incident, text LEEDS along with any relevant information including ticket details, your name and description of an incident to 60006. You will then receive an automated response which means that your report has been logged and will then be looked into.
Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, tragedy chanting, fans entering the pitch, the use of pyros and throwing objects.
What has Daniel Farke said ahead of the match?
League position:
Leeds: 18th
Chelsea: 3rd
Top scorer:
Leeds: Lukas Nmecha (4)
Chelsea: João Pedro, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández (4)
Officials
Referee: Darren England
Assistant referees: Scott Ledger & Akil Howson
Fourth official: Josh Smith
Video Assistant Referee: Paul Howard
Additional Video Assistant Referee: Lee Betts
