Three things Chelsea can look for against Leeds: Not the same as it was

3. Despite the changes since, will the last match weigh heavy?

It’s already been mentioned just how much Lampard’s Chelsea put into beating Leeds. Now the question is how much of that match, and all that came after, weighs heavy on the minds of the players.

Regardless of what some think of Lampard, he is a Chelsea legend and there is sure to be a group of players in the squad that A: feel bad about his sacking and B: feel they let him down. This feeling may persist even with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea being undefeated and altogether in a better mood at the moment.

Might some of these players look at Leeds as the moment it all went wrong? Perhaps, and that may be on their mind for this one. They may consider how much they put into beating Leeds and how that cost them later. And that might cause just enough hesitation for Leeds to pounce.

This may seem like a nonfactor but it should be something Tuchel should at least consider from a psychological perspective as he selects his team. This match shouldn’t be some big grudge match or even a somber one. It should be routine game against a midtable side that is in pretty awful form. It’s a margin of thought Tuchel needs to find in his squad as he selects it so no one burns out again or has hesitations against Leeds.

Of course it will be hard to truly quantify from a fan perspective. The best fans can hope for is Tuchel does what Lampard did and puts Bielsa in his place, but doesn’t do what Lampard did and put so much into it that there is nothing saved up for later matches against tougher opponents.

What are you looking for in this match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!