Chelsea – Leeds : Preview & Prediction
Chelsea need to recover quickly from Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, where they conceded a goal late in extra time to lose 1-0 to Liverpool, suffering their sixth consecutive defeat in a domestic cup final. They will try to end that poor run in May in the FA Cup, but first they need to beat Leeds United in this fifth-round tie, and six home wins in a row against such opponents should at least boost confidence that they can take another step towards the final here.
Interestingly, the two have not met in the FA Cup since the final in 1970, when the Blues lifted the trophy after beating the Yorkshire side after a replay. They will be hoping to maintain this dominance over the visitors and, traditionally, this has not been a stage of this competition where Chelsea have tended to falter, with the Blues advancing in 13 of their last 15 fifth round ties.
While history and the difference between the divisions in which each team plays make Leeds underdogs for this clash, they travel with sky-high confidence and will surely be looking to spring a surprise. The Whites scored three late goals to complete a remarkable 3-1 win over Leicester City on Friday, securing their ninth consecutive league win at the expense of the Championship leaders.
That reduced their gap to Leicester to just six points, but their promotion battle will be briefly put to one side as Leeds aim to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 21 years. They came close to reaching this stage in that time, suffering fifth-round exits on three occasions, including last season’s 2-0 defeat to Fulham.
Players to watch: Enzo Fernandez is aiming to become the first Chelsea player since Pedro in 2016/17 to score in the third, fourth and fifth rounds of the same FA Cup. On a high, Wilfried Gnonto has scored in four consecutive away games for Leeds, including the fourth-round play-off win at Plymouth.
Key Fact: Leeds have scored more than three goals in three of their last four away games in the FA Cup (including extra time).
Chelsea – Leeds : Betting Tips
Chelsea – Win Odds: 1.50
