Home of football statistics and historyChelsea are preparing to kick off life after Liam Rosenior with a crucial FA Cup semi-final clash against Leeds United at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
With the BlueCo project still lacking direction after four years, Leeds will be looking to capitalise on the latest turmoil at Chelsea.
Whoever comes out on top in this clash will face either Manchester City or Southampton in the final.
Despite the ongoing chaos, Chelsea are still favourites to secure a place in the final, even though Leeds are already dreaming of finally adding their name to the FA Cup winners’ list.
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It’s been four years since the BlueCo ownership took over Chelsea, yet the club is still searching for some semblance of stability.
The Blues have struggled to find a manager who fully aligns with the vision of the ownership, and Liam Rosenior was the latest victim of the club’s vicious revolving door.
Rosenior replaced Enzo Maresca, who delivered two trophies in his debut campaign, but the Englishman only lasted 106 days in the dugout before he was sent packing.
The former RC Strasbourg manager left Chelsea in a worse position than they were when he joined.
A run of seven wins from his first nine games in charge turned out to be all smoke and mirrors when the wheels began to come off in late February.
Since then, Chelsea have become the whipping boys of the Premier League and a brutal run of seven defeats in eight games, including six consecutive games without scoring, ended Rosenior’s tenure.
Callum McFarlane is set to take over as interim manager until the end of the season, and his first task is to steer the club to the FA Cup final this weekend.
Winning the FA Cup would soften the blow on what has been an anti-climactic campaign, especially with the club on course to miss out on European football altogether.
Chelsea’s situation will give Leeds plenty of belief that they can get a result this weekend.
While the Blues are going through a worrying slump at the worst possible time, Leeds look like they can hardly put a foot wrong, especially after reaching the 40-point mark to retain their top-flight status.
Daniel Farke’s side are unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions (W3, D4), including a memorable win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Peacocks will now turn their attention to Wembley as they chase their first FA Cup final appearance since 1973, when they fell short to Sunderland.
The only problem is that Leeds haven’t scored at Wembley since Eric Cantona found the net in 1992.
However, after securing a win and a draw against Chelsea this season, Sunday’s outing could be the perfect time to end that woeful Wembley record.
Team News
McFarlane confirmed that Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro are fit to face Leeds in a massive boost for the Blues. However, they still have a few injury problems to worry about.
Estevao has effectively been ruled out for the rest of the season after picking up a hamstring injury in the narrow defeat to Manchester United.
The 18-year-old joins Reece James, Filip Jorgensen, Levi Colwill, and Jamie Gittens on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Leeds have also lost Ilia Gruev for the rest of the season due to a knee injury. That’s a huge blow for Farke, but on the bright side, he could still receive three fitness boosts.
Jayden Bogle suffered a foot injury against Bournemouth but should be able to shake it off, while Sebastiaan Bornauw and Anton Stach could also return for the semi-final.
Chelsea potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez; Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, Jorrel Hato, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Alejandro Garnacho, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto; Joao Pedro.
Leeds United potential starting line-up:
(3-4-2-1): Lucas Perri; Pascal Struijk, Jaka Bijol, Joe Rodon; Jayden Bogle, Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka, Gabriel Gudmundsson; Brenden Aaronson, Noah Okafor; Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
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