Daniel Farke has been speaking about Chelsea's poor form as his Leeds United side prepare for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. The Whites have been in fine form of late, now seven games unbeaten across all competitions, and they are effectively safe in the Premier League, closing in on mathematical safety.
Leeds enjoyed a similar run earlier in the season, but a poor run of form saw them sucked back into the relegation battle. In truth, the Yorkshire side have looked good enough to stay up for much of the season, and they have managed to switch it back on over recent weeks to pull away from the danger zone.
Heading into this semi-final, the feeling at each of the two clubs couldn't be more different, with Chelsea in rotten form. The Blues have won just one of their last seven games, with that sole win coming against Port Vale, who were relegated from League One. Meanwhile, they have failed to score in their last five league games, breaking a more than 100-year-old club record.
Calum McFarlane has been placed in temporary charge after the sacking of Liam Rosenior, and it's obvious that he has big issues to fix, but while Leeds boss Farke acknowledges the struggles going on at Stamford Bridge, he is well aware that cup games are very different.
Daniel Farke touches on Chelsea's drop in form before Leeds come to London
"Stability and unity and confidence is always massive," said the German in his pre-match press conference. "Leeds has a huge, passionate fan base, which is always better when united. Chelsea are probably not happy with recent results. But in a semi-final, it doesn't play much of a significant role what has happened in the league."
Speaking about his own side's fine form and how they can use that to power their bid to reach the FA Cup final, Farke added: "Good momentum. There's no replacement for wins. It's good for the confidence, yesterday's manner of draw. With the fight to win, a late point is sometimes more important. Some players stepped into the spotlight who perhaps weren't in it before. But it doesn't make the task any easier."
Chelsea are yet to beat Leeds this season despite having already played them twice in the Premier League. The Yorkshire side won the first league meeting between the two sides this season, and the two sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the second meeting.
Sunday's clash at Wembley will be an intriguing one, and there is added pressure for Chelsea due to the fact they could fall out of the European spots this weekend, and the FA Cup is a potential route into Europe.
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