Chelsea football club will host newly-promoted Premier League club Leeds United at Stamford Bridge for week 11 of the league’s 2020-2021 campaign at 21:00.
The game will see Chelsea play in the presence of their fans for the first time since mid-March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic halted football in the United Kingdom.
Recall that when football resumed in the Premier League in June, clubs were forced to play behind closed doors to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. That has been the practice even after the 2020-2021 season kicked off.
Recently, the government of the United Kingdom gave the go-ahead for clubs whose stadiums fell under tier one and two, to host a specific amount of spectators at their home grounds. Fortunately for Chelsea, Stamford Bridge fell under tier two which means that they are entitled to host 2,000 spectators.
Hence, 2000 lucky fans of the club will have the opportunity to see the new set up of coach Frank Lampard which comprises some of the most expensive stars in the league.
Also read: Frank Lampard is on the verge of Spending Over £290m on transfers at Chelsea
The star-studded squad will face Leeds United that can not boast of star players besides the coach Marcelo Bielsa, who is highly respected for his technical ability on the sidelines for Leeds. His managerial prowess has earned him a nomination for the Best FIFA coach award.
Unfortunately for Leeds United, the fear of coach Marcelo Bielsa is gradually diminishing as he has been finding it extremely difficult to win games and maintain the pace he started the 2020-2021 season with.
The inconsistency of Leeds United is so overwhelming that the club has suffered 4 defeats, two draws, and recorded 4 victories in 10 league games. Hence, Leeds have been pushed down from being among the top 6 at the beginning of the season to the 12th spot on the league table.
On the other hand, Chelsea are not doing as badly as Leeds United and they would want to maintain that status when they welcome their 2000 fans to Stamford Bridge tonight.
So far this season, coach Frank Lampard has led the club to 5 wins, 4 draws, and just a defeat in 10 league games. Chelsea’s performance so far has earned them 19 points and kept them in the 3rd spot on the league table. A win against Leeds United tonight will make their fight for the title even stronger.
It’s matchday and today, we welcome back fans to Stamford Bridge! 💙#FanReady | #CHELEE pic.twitter.com/j0zI848hip
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 5, 2020
Chelsea Premier League form: DDWWWD
Chelsea form (all competitions): WWWWDW
Leeds United Premier League form: LWLLDW
Team News
As stated earlier, 2000 spectators will have the opportunity to watch Chelsea vs Leeds United match at Stamford Bridge tonight. Fortunately for coach Frank Lampard, he is going into the match with little or no injury worries.
As of the time of publishing this report, the only player that might not be available for the game is Ben Chilwell who is said to be struggling with a minor injury. But reports say the minor injury will not stop Chilwell from starting tonight’s game.
Despite the full availability of players for Lampard, the coach might want to stick with the players that earned him a goalless draw against Tottenham Hotspur on November 29. On the flip side, the club’s fans would want to see how Olivier Giroud would be left out of the starting eleven despite scoring 4 goals in the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Sevilla on Wednesday, December 2.
Pre-Leeds training! ✔ pic.twitter.com/6XGHkWrriz
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 4, 2020
On the other hand, Leeds United manager Bielsa has welcomed back Diego Llorente who just recovered from a groin injury. But it is not likely that the Argentine tactician would want to throw him in against Chelsea tonight.
The coach is not likely to have the services of Adam Forshaw who is still battling to recover from an injury. While Pablo Hernandez and Jamie Shackleton are yet to gain match fitness for tonight’s encounter.
Besides those players mentioned above, Leeds United don’t have any major injury worries, and the club’s star striker Jack Harrison is fit enough to start tonight’s game.
💬 "Every game in the Premier League is attractive. Every opponent renews the difficulties we have to face." pic.twitter.com/bdKawCq1aQ
— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 3, 2020
Chelsea probable starting lineup:
Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kovacic, Kante, Mount; Ziyech, Giroud, Werner
Leeds United probable starting lineup:
Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Dallas; Raphinha, Klich, Phillips, Alioski; Harrison; Bamford
