Chelsea hosts long-time rival Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday. The brilliant minds of Thomas Tuchel and Marcelo Bielsa will go head-to-head (no pun intended) for just the second time. However, it’s unclear to this point which team needs the points more right now. The hosts slipped to third following a baffling loss to West Ham, whereas the Whites sit 15th, just six points off the relegation zone. The Blues are the heavy favorites—rightly so—but they have been in rotten form lately. Despite earning a win and two draws over the last four, they have played poorly in all four contests (Watford, Manchester United, West Ham and Zenit). Injuries are taking their toll, but the Blues will be expected to earn a comfortable win in front of a rowdy Stamford Bridge.
Here is how The Pride of London team sees the contest playing out:
Olaoluwa Nwobodo: 3-0 Chelsea
Crisis FC and Overreaction FC, Chelsea supporters are at it again. Tuchel and the fans didn’t get the result they wanted against Zenit St. Petersburg, so it better come against Leeds United. Leeds isn’t in very good form, and it’s been particularly defensively solid, less so now. The Blues have to win this one.
Barrett Rouen: 2-0 Chelsea
I think we see a return for almost every veteran we have available and the Blues see this out. Wouldn’t be crazy for Leeds to somehow make a thing out of this though, given their style of play against a tired Chelsea team would make a lot of sense.
Olly Smith: 3-2 Chelsea
Leeds might not have Kalvin Phillips or Patrick Bamford due to injury, but Chelsea is in a rocky spot right now. The loss of Ben Chilwell and continued absences of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic has severely disrupted a settled Blues squad. Nothing is clicking and this one will be a slog.
Leighton September: 4-1 Chelsea
Just hoping for the best and a bit of a bounce back!
Anthony Gatt: 2-1 Chelsea
Leeds will press us for 90 minutes, get one goal inevitably due to our defense no longer knowing how to defend, but the quality up top will save us once again—just like it did against Watford.
Mike Malley: 2-2 Draw
Since Leeds has been pretty terrible so far this season, it would only make sense for its best performance to come against the Blues. Chelsea’s current injury crisis is to blame for the previous two results, but the team’s fitness has not meaningfully improved ahead of Saturday’s match. Timo Werner put in a fantastic performance against Zenit in the Champions League, so expect him to be back amongst the goals, even in a draw.
Varun Dani: 2-0 Chelsea
Chelsea is a rough spot right now. December has spelt the doom of many a manager in the recent past, with Tuchel under increased scrutiny for the first time since he took over. Nevertheless, the German will prove again that he has what it takes to steady the ship and set it back on course. The defence will be back to its best and Werner be involved with the goals. A course-correcting result.
Kevin Peacock: 1-0 Chelsea
Back to basics for the Blues for this important game. With three goals being conceded in the last two games, Tuchel will be looking for his side to tighten up its defence, as will millions of Chelsea fans. Historically, December is a difficult month for the Blues and with an intense run of games coming up, now is not the time hit the skids. So, expect a clean sheet to once again be the focus of the players’ attentions, expect us to suffer with and without the ball. Expect a Mason Mount goal to win the game.
Nate Hofmann: 2-2 Draw
You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t have a ton of faith in Chelsea’s defense at the moment. Leeds hasn’t been very good this season, but it poses enough danger to trouble an unconfident back line. If anything, hopefully Chelsea’s attack keeps up the momentum from the second half against Zenit, where Werner and Romelu Lukaku—and then Kai Havertz—looked pretty good together. Another frustrating result with a bit of optimism about Chelsea’s attacking play heading into the holidays.
Gabe Henderson: 2-1 Chelsea
This game is a crapshoot. Therefore, I didn’t predict it. Instead, I am throwing my friend’s—who knows next to nothing about the Premier League this season—score prediction next to my name and hoping it gets me a correct scoreline. I wouldn’t be thrilled with the Blues for conceding a goal to this pitiful Leeds side, but a win is a win is a win, I guess.
What is your score prediction for the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!