Chelsea vs Leeds United Preview: FA Cup Semi-Final Clash at Wembley After Rosenior Exit

Chelsea FC face an ambitious Leeds United side in the FA Cup semi-final as the first game following Liam Rosenior’s departure.

Liam Rosenior was sacked earlier this week after his Chelsea side went goalless across five league games, failing to pick up a single point during that run.

Calum McFarlane will take charge of the side for the rest of the season, starting this afternoon against Leeds.

Chelsea Struggling, Leeds Arrive With Momentum

Leeds come into the game in a fine vein of form, unbeaten in all competitions since March 3rd.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have been massively struggling of late, and their last two wins in all competitions have come against lower league sides Port Vale FC and Wrexham AFC in the FA Cup.

In fact, Chelsea’s recent form has been so poor, the Blues have only scored seven goals in their last seven games and all of those came against Port Vale at the start of the month.

Chelsea have also not faced any Premier League opponents in this competition yet, with the semi-final being their first real top-flight test.

On the other hand, Leeds battled their way past fellow Premier League side West Ham United in the last round, although they had to rely on penalties to get the job done.

Key Players to Watch

Dominic Calvert-Lewin comes into the match as Leeds United’s top goalscorer this season with 12 goals.

Brazilian forward João Pedro has found the net the most times for Chelsea this campaign, managing 19 goals across all competitions.

Chelsea are this season’s FA Cup top scorers so far with 20 goals.

The London side have also managed four goals in all of their matches in this cup run and are looking to become the first side in the competition’s history to win by that margin five times in a row.

In the Leeds camp, another interesting goalscoring trend is apparent.

Although the Yorkshire side have managed nine goals, they have been scored by eight different players.

Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka is the only player to have scored twice for Leeds in this competition.

FA Cup History

In terms of history, Leeds are making their first appearance at this stage of the competition since 1986/87.

With their recent record at Wembley standing at three losses from three games, there will undoubtedly be nerves among their travelling fans this afternoon.

Chelsea have enjoyed far more success in the FA Cup over recent years.

The eight-time winners reached the final three times in a row in 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22.

However, the Blues lost on all three occasions.

Team News

Chelsea stars Reece James, João Pedro, and Levi Colwill are all reportedly back in training, but it remains unclear whether they will make an appearance on the bench for the semi-final.

The Blues will also be without Benoît Badiashile, Estêvão, Cole Palmer, and Jamie Gittens, who all remain sidelined with ongoing injuries.

For Daniel Farke’s men, the only absentees are Ilia Gruev, Bornauw, and important new midfielder Anton Stach.

With both teams set and ready, anticipation will hang around Wembley as both sets of fans wait nervously to see if their team can book their place in a huge FA Cup final clash against Manchester City next month.