Chelsea arrive at Elland Road with the upper hand
Chelsea silenced a few of their early season doubters with an impressive performance, despite not coming away with three points, in their 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
The match was rather overshadowed by Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte’s touchline antics, and the fireworks from the German may have struck the right note with the playing squad.
The Blues were a little unfortunate not to see Cristian Romero sent off in the build-up to Harry Kane’s late equaliser, after they had led through Kalidou Koulibaly and Reece James.
Leeds United were pegged back by a late rally from Southampton to draw 2-2 on their travels last time out, with the Whites making an overall very positive start in their first full campaign under Jesse Marsch.
Process
Chelsea have been stronger in both boxes so far, despite facing tougher opponents, and are always tough to break down under Tuchel.
With Leeds losing a player of the quality of Raphinha this summer, and replacing him with more long term signings, it is tough to see them being as effective against the better teams as they have been in recent years.
That said, there is a sense of optimism around Elland Road at the moment, that will have only been enhanced by their opening day comeback victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Hurt by the late equaliser last week, it would be a surprise not to see the Blues react and come away with three points to keep pace towards the top end of the division.
Tuchel has a wealth of attacking options to choose from and it will be interesting to see if they can be a little more adventurous in the final third this season.
Patrick Bamford’s presence at the top of the pitch does make Leeds far more dangerous than they were at times last season, but the Chelsea academy graduate is still on the way to getting up to full speed.
Raheem Sterling has led the line in the last two matches, with Tuchel having to re-strategise at the top of the pitch due to the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to their former clubs.
Chelsea felt fairly short at first glance to win the game given the start that Leeds have made, however there is a significant quality gap in terms of what the manager’s have to pick from.
The Blues’ performance against Spurs last time out, was enough to suggest they should make light work of bottom to mid table sides this term, Leeds would be happy to be included in that category.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
3-0 Leeds, work to do for Chelsea.