Overview
Chelsea are facing the last chance to save a season full of fluctuations when facing Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium.
After Liam Rosenior was sacked just over 3 months in charge, Chelsea fell into a form crisis. The 0-3 defeat to Brighton was the fifth consecutive defeat in the Premier League. And more alarmingly, they did not score any goals in this entire series of matches.
The series of poor results left The Blues behind in the top 5 race, 7 points behind Liverpool even though the opponent still has one match to play, thereby making the hope of participating in the Champions League slim.
In that context, interim coach Calum McFarlane - who replaced Enzo Maresca in January - will shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the team's spirit. The immediate goal is to bring Chelsea to the FA Cup final, where they have an impressive tradition of winning 9/11 recent semi-final matches.
Despite declining performance in the domestic league, Chelsea is still the team with the most goals in the FA Cup this season with 20 goals. In the quarter-finals alone, they had 7 goals scored by 6 different players in the victory over Port Vale.
If they continue to maintain this performance, Chelsea could go down in history as the first team to score at least 4 goals in 5 consecutive FA Cup matches. However, this challenge will be much greater as Leeds is the first Premier League opponent they face in this year's tournament.
In the opposite direction, Leeds United is writing a noteworthy story. Daniel Farke's team is the first newly promoted team to reach the FA Cup semi-finals since the 2018-2019 Wolves season.
They advanced to this round after successively overcoming Derby County, Birmingham City, Norwich City and West Ham. Leeds showed an impressive collective play with 8 different players contributing to 9 goals, of which only Ao Tanaka scored more than one goal.
Current form is also supporting Leeds, as they are unbeaten in 7 consecutive matches. The Yorkshire team is facing the opportunity to reach the FA Cup final for the first time since the 1972-1973 season, and also nurturing hopes of winning their first major title since the 1991-1992 first division championship.
In terms of force, Leeds will not have Ilia Gruev until the end of the season, while Anton Stach still leaves open the possibility of playing. On Chelsea's side, Estevao is out for the rest of the season, and Reece James and Cole Palmer are not sure to recover in time. Positive news is that Joao Pedro has returned to training and may be able to participate.
Head-to-head record
Chelsea and Leeds United have faced each other six times in the FA Cup, and it is noteworthy that The Blues have both qualified in those six times. The most recent time took place in the 5th round of the 2023-2024 season, continuing the superior streak of the London team.
In the history of the league, only Arsenal (8 times) eliminated Leeds more than Chelsea, showing that the West London representative is always the nemesis of this opponent in the FA Cup.
However, looking at the reality of the current season, the balance is no longer clearly tilted. Chelsea has not been able to defeat Leeds in the last two encounters. They lost 1-3 at Elland Road in December, before being held to a 2-2 draw despite leading by 2 goals in the second leg in February.
Those numbers show that although history favors Chelsea, the current form opens up a significant opportunity for Leeds to create a surprise at Wembley.
Score prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Leeds United
The match between Chelsea and Leeds United takes place at 9:00 PM on April 26 (Vietnam time).
