Overview
Chelsea must not have overcome their sadness after losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley. Despite the "Red Brigade" losing many key players due to injuries, The Blues still could not take advantage of the opportunity and lost in extra time.
Black in England is still haunting Mauricio Pochettino. After 388 matches leading Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea, the Argentine strategist has not once experienced the feeling of the championship. Meanwhile, The Blues have set a sad record - the first English side to lose six consecutive domestic cup finals.
Returning after their sadness at Wembley, Chelsea had to immediately lift their spirits to face Leeds in the 5th round of the FA Cup. This also seems to be Chelsea's last chance to win the title this season.
In recent seasons, Chelsea have often played well in the FA Cup and won 13/15 of their most recent matches. This season, The Blues beat Preston North End 4-0 in the third round, then struggled to overcome Aston Villa after two matches.
Just having to face a team from the Championship like Leeds is the best opportunity for Chelsea to regain the winning feeling.
However, Leeds have also been in good form recently. The Elland Road team just defeated Championship leader Leicester with a score of 3-1 at home.
In this season's Championship, Leeds are playing extremely impressively. They have 72 points after 34 rounds and are capable of winning 1 of the 2 direct tickets to promotion. Leeds are currently unbeaten in 12 consecutive matches, including 6 consecutive wins in all competitions.
This is the second consecutive season that Leeds have reached the 5th round of the FA Cup. However, they have not reached the quarter-finals of this tournament since the 2002-2003 season.
Human resources
After 120 tense minutes against Liverpool, Chelsea have hardly suffered any personnel losses. Perhaps, Pochettino will have to worry about the ability of center back Thiago Silva to play.
Meanwhile, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka and Benoit Badiashile are still unable to return due to various injuries.
For Leeds, they will not have the services of Karl Darlow, Pascal Struijk, Sam Byram and Stuart Dallas due to injury.
Expected lineup:
Chelsea: Sanchez; gustasi, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Nkunku, Mudryk; Jackson.
Leeds United: Meslier; Gray, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara, Gnonto, Rutter, Summerville; Piroe.
The match between Chelsea - Leeds in the 5th round of the FA Cup takes place at 02:30 am on February 29 (Vietnam time).
