Leeds United are set to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with 2000 blue supporters ready to enter the stadium after only limited fans will be allowed in many of the Premier League stadiums. Marcelo Bielsa attended the Press conference to give the latest updates about the team and the players and gave his thoughts on Frank Lampard and his Chelsea.
The last time Leeds played Chelsea the match ended in a defeat for the Whites in 2004 at Stamford Bridge. So therefore this time with a change in management and a better form so far in the league, Leeds will make sure to challenge this season’s title favourites Chelsea in a fierce battle.
When Bielsa was asked by the journalist to analyse his team’s performance after 10 games he said, “I’m always a little reluctant to answer this question. If you observe, we had a favourable start to the season where the goals that we conceded didn’t really affect the result as we were scoring plenty.”
When talking about his side’s clean sheet performances against Arsenal and Everton he said, “The defensive performance in the last two games was better against Arsenal than it was against Everton. Against Arsenal we encountered not a lot of danger and against Everton we conceded some chances which could have resulted in goals.”
The last time Lampard and Bielsa met each other was in the Championship when the viral “SPYGATE“ news of Marcelo Bielsa sending a spy to Derby County’s training ground had got the Leeds boss in trouble. Although that was a long time ago and this time there will only be the 3 points to play for and not any controversies.
Speaking about Frank Lampard and Chelsea, Marcelo Bielsa said, “During last season he developed a lot of the players that were already in the institution and this season he improved the composition of his team, choosing players for the positions he deemed he needed.”
The Leeds manager gave team updates during his press conference where he confirmed that Diego Llorente is fit but he will be playing with the U23s as he hasn’t played in a long time. He also said that the Leeds midfield magician Pablo Hernandez will also play with U23s to get game time before playing for the first team.
Chelsea currently sit 3rd with Liverpool and Tottenham above them and Leeds are below Manchester City in 12th position with only a point difference separating them. Since losing to Liverpool in MATCHDAY 2, Chelsea have not lost a game since then. While Leeds have lost 4 matches and won 4 matches the same number as Newcastle United. Leeds are known to play every game with high intensity even against the Top 6 sides like Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal which they showed this season. So there will be no surprise if Leeds pressurise the effective back line of Chelsea who have conceded only 10 goals only behind Tottenham who have conceded 9 goals in the Premier League. Patrick Bamford will be looking to score against his former side where he spent 5 years before joining Middlesbrough. He has currently scored 7 goals for Leeds along with Harry Kane and Bruno Fernandes.
The match kicks off at 8.00pm (BST) at Stamford Bridge.
