Chelsea have seen a sudden slump in form and after last weekend’s loss to West Ham United, they have to beat Zenit in the Champions League as well.
Zenit managed to pick up a 3-3 draw from the final group game on Wednesday and immediately after this result, there have been whispers that the Blues might be in the midst of a mid-season collapse.
Next up, Chelsea take on Leeds United in the Premier League and after their past few results, it will be really hard to claim that the London side will win this encounter comfortably. Leeds have avoided defeat in their previous three league games and with Bielsa sitting in the dugout, an upset is very much possible.
After last weekend’s loss to West Ham, Chelsea have slipped down from the top spot and they go into the next matchweek as the third-placed side on the table. A loss on Saturday won’t push them down further but it would mean that Liverpool and Manchester City will open up a considerable gap at the top.
Chelsea team news vs Leeds United:
The Blues have a fully fit defensive line up as both Rudiger and Thiago Silva will come back into the side after being rested in midweek. Chalobah out injured means Christensen is expected to hold onto his place as the third central defender.
The midfield is the area where all the problems lie for the manager since almost all the first-choice midfielders are out currently injured. Kovacic is recovering from COVID while Kante is out with a knee injury. Both of them are going to be unavailable for selection this weekend. Jorginho’s name was also added to this list earlier this week after he suffered a lower back problem.
If this was not crisis enough then Ruben Loftus-Cheek also picked up a knock during warm-up and he too is not likely to feature against Leeds United.
The manager said, as quoted: “Unfortunately, for many weeks, we are without N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, and now without Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek was out after the warm-up.”
Thomas Tuchel confirmed last night that Ruben Loftus-Cheek picked up a minor injury in the warm-up last night.
End this nightmare…https://t.co/YEb892Ebc1 pic.twitter.com/Gk9zrx2QQD
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) December 9, 2021
We are still not sure how serious Jorginho’s injury is but if he cannot be fit in time then Saul Niguez and Ross Barkley might have to pair up in midfield this weekend.
Tuchel used Reece James in midfield against Zenit but he won’t dare take such a tactical gamble against a Bielsa managed Leeds side.
Lukaku found the back of the net in midweek and this goal will give him some much-needed confidence. The Belgian international should hold onto his place in the side along with Werner who scored two and assisted one goal vs Zenit.
The Chelsea boss is expected to rotate his third attacker though as he has options like Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz who can replace Mason Mount in the starting line up.
Chelsea predicted line up vs Leeds United:
Predicted Starting Line up(3-4-2-1): Edouard Mendy; Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger; Jorginho/Saul, Ross Barkley, Reece James, Alonso; Werner, Ziyech/Havertz; Romelu Lukaku.
