Chelsea host dirty Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night.
This is a game that any Chelsea fan knows carries a heavy historical background to it and if the players cannot get up for such a fixture with so much history and with it also being in The FA Cup, then I’ll have no words.
The hosts booked their spot in the fifth round after beating Aston Villa 3-1 in the fourth-round replay earlier this month. Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez were on the scoresheet for the Blues. The initial fourth-round meeting last month at Stamford Bridge had ended in a goalless draw.
Leeds, meanwhile, also needed a fourth round replay to see off Plymouth Argyle. After a 1-1 home draw, they won 4-1 away in extra time, where Leeds scored thrice.
The Blues are coming off a 1-0 extra tme Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s 118th-minute winner, finishing runners-up for the third time in six seasons.
Leeds, meanwhile, made it six wins on across competitions, registering a 3-1 comeback win over Leicester City in the Championship on Saturday. After conceding in the 15th minute, they scored thrice in the final 10 minutes, with Patrick Bamford scoring in added time.
Leeds are in good form of late, sitting in second place in the Championship and pushing hard for a return to Premier League football.
They are actually on fire, having had some fantastic results in recent games and scoring a lot of goals.
Wow, the more I think about this game the more it concerns me. Leeds are in incredible form and are going to come to Stamford Bridge and be totally up for this like it’s a cup final. They will be confident, they will be smelling blood and knowing that they could soon turn the stadium fans against their own players, manager, and the owners, and it could become a hugely tough game for Chelsea and super tense.
There is such a deep history between these two sides as well and Leeds fans are going to pack into the Bridge and will absolutely be out-singing us.
As I said above, it all depends what Chelsea shows up. And simply, if we are to stand any chance, it must be the Chelsea with chests out and heads held high, otherwise I do fear for this one. Leeds will be a Premier League side again next season and they have some super energetic, fast, and quality players.
Really, we should be expecting Chelsea to win this one and of course they still can win it, but I am more than cautious about this game, I am fearful for it, especially under the current circumstances.
Either way, let’s get behind the lads once again. COME ON CHELSEA!!! UTC!!! Get at DIRTY Leeds!!