Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side host Chelsea on Saturday (12:30), live on BT Sport.
The Blues are unbeaten since the appointment of new head coach, Thomas Tuchel. The German has held the post at Stamford Bridge since Frank Lampard left the club in January, overseeing eight wins and three draws in his 11 matches thus far.
The two teams met for the first time this season in December, where Patrick Bamford’s early opener was cancelled out by the hosts who went on to win 3-1. The match was significant for another reason, it was the only time this season either side have played in front of fans, when 2,000 were in the stands.
This is the first time the teams have faced off at Elland Road since 2012, and the first league match there since 2003. The overall head-to-head record both home and away is close, with the Whites just edging it on victories.
From 14 matches on their travels this season, Chelsea have won seven and drawn three, losing the other four. Their top-scorers are Tammy Abraham and Jorginho with six, whilst Mason Mount and Timo Werner are on five. The assists chart is topped by Werner, who also has five to his name.
As has been the case for most of the campaign, Bamford continues to lead the goal-scoring charts with 13 for Leeds, and is joint-top on assists with Raphinha and Mateusz Klich on five.
The battle in the goalkeeping department will see Illan Meslier come up against Edouard Mendy. Both are in their debut Premier League campaigns following successful spells in France, and have impressed. The clean sheet record stands at eight for Meslier, and 13 for Mendy.
Bielsa’s side were boosted in their last match at West Ham United, when Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo were back in the side. Following Diego Llorente’s return from injury in the previous matches, it’s given United’s head coach more options to choose from.
A win for Leeds could see them go level on points with Arsenal (38), as they aim to break back into the top 10. Chelsea could move above Leicester and into third place with three points, as they continue the fight at the top end of the table for Champions League football next season.
Manager/head coach
Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa
Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel
League position
Leeds: 11th
Chelsea: 4th
Premier League form
Leeds: LLWLL
Chelsea: WDDWW
Premier League top scorer
Leeds: Patrick Bamford (13)
Chelsea: Tammy Abraham, Jorginho (6)
Head to head
Leeds: 39
Draws: 29
Chelsea: 35
Last time at Elland Road
19th December, 2012
League Cup
Leeds United 1 (Becchio 37’)
Chelsea 5 (Mata 47’, Ivanovic 64’, Moses 66’, Hazard 81’, Torres 84’)
Team news
Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo both came through unscathed following their return at West Ham on Monday. Jamie Shackleton, Robin Koch and Gaetano Berardi are all now available for selection, Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed, but it remains to be seen whether they will be instantly involved. Pablo Hernandez, Pascal Struijk and Adam Forshaw are all still sidelined.
Chelsea have a relatively clean bill of health, ahead of the fixture. Joint top-scorer Tammy Abraham has been out of the squad of late and is expected to be absent again on Saturday, with an ankle injury. Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Olivier Giroud all missed the win over Everton, but the trio could all return at Elland Road.
Officials
Referee - Kevin Friend
Assistant Referee 1 - Simon Beck
Assistant Referee 2 - Adrian Holmes
Fourth Official - Anthony Taylor
Video Assistant Referee - Stuart Attwell
The key battle
Raphinha vs Edouard Mendy
Former teammates will always want to beat one another and there will be no exception to that rule on Saturday lunchtime. Both players were at former club Rennes throughout 2019/20 and made moves to the Premier League in the summer transfer window.
This battle is a relatively simple one to look at. Raphinha will be aiming to get forward and score, or set up a teammate, whereas Mendy is likely to be between the posts for Chelsea so will therefore be tasked with keeping Raphinha and the Whites out.
Latest odds
Leeds: 18/5
Draw: 14/5
Chelsea: 8/11
How to watch
The game will be broadcast on BT Sport, with live commentary on LUTV.