Chelsea v Leeds United preview
Liam Rosenior has called Leeds United’s performance in their win over Nottingham Forest “magnificent” before the new Chelsea manager faces them for the first time as a Premier League manager on Tuesday.
The Blues have won all four of their league matches under Rosenior but face opponents who are also in promising form, with that 3-1 home victory taking them to seven points from their last four games.
“They’re very forward-thinking and, when I say they’re direct, I mean it in a really positive way. They use their strengths.
“They use Dominic [Calvert-Lewin], whose movement in the box is outstanding. They get crosses in and counter-press very well.
“We have to stand up to that and overcome those intensity [elements] that are key to the game. We’ve rotated a lot, which we need to do at this stage of the season.
“You have to be really, really well-prepared, tactically, to give the players the best plans and solutions to the problems you face.”
🥶#CFC | #WOLCHE pic.twitter.com/HEQzCfP6d4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 8, 2026
Leeds had lost six of their previous seven matches before beating Chelsea 3-1 at home on December 3, launching a seven-game unbeaten run to ease the pressure on Daniel Farke and put his players on course to stay in the top flight.
Farke has played down a suggestion that the result was a turning point in United’s season. “Days like that don’t come around that often, when you are able to dominate against one of the biggest names in this league,” he added.
“To win a game in that way is why we have worked so hard over the last two-and-a-half years, but the result won’t help us [at Chelsea].
“We have to be more on it. It’s a different situation: an away game with a different manager, [who has] made slight adaptations to their game.”
Third-bottom West Ham are six points behind Leeds and host in-form Manchester United on Tuesday (20:15 GMT).
“I first came across [Rosenior] when he was a pundit and and I quite liked what he said about the game and his judgement about games – it made it a lot of sense,” said Farke.
“I liked the way he set up his team [at Hull], so that they played proper football. He did a more than decent job there.
“He’s a promising, still relatively young coach. It’s a big stage and I’m sure he’ll try everything to grab this chance with both hands.
“So far, he’s had an impressive run of results in the Premier League and Champions League. He’s a very, very talented manager.”
📐 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀: 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲#LUFC x @HisenseUK pic.twitter.com/m9AWpRRyPh
— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 8, 2026
Chelsea v Leeds team news
Wideman Reece James is a doubt for Chelsea through illness. Midfielders Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens have hamstring problems, as does defender Tosin Adarabioyo.
Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is a doubt and centre-back Levi Colwill has a long-term knee injury. Winger Mykhailo Mudryk has not played since November 2024 after being suspended by the FA after an alleged adverse finding in a drug test.
Farke hopes to have forward Calvert-Lewin and midfielder Ilia Gruev available after both appeared to struggle against Forest, with the former England international also suffering an illness.
Centre-back Pascal Struijk is a doubt with a hip problem and midfielder Anton Stach is out but defender Jaka Bijol could make a full return from injury, having been an unused substitute against Forest.
Chelsea v Leeds United predicted line ups
Chelsea starting XI: Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Estevao, Andrey Santos, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto
Leeds starting XI: Karl Darlow, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Sean Longstaff, Joe Rodon, James Justin, Brenden Aaronson, Daniel James, Ethan Ampadu, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Noah Okafor
Cole completes his hat-trick. ✨#CFC | #WOLCHE pic.twitter.com/8d199OBxBU
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 7, 2026
How to watch Chelsea v Leeds: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 19:30 GMT (14:30 ET / 11:30 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 4 and the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through Discovery Plus, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Chelsea v Leeds United stats
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League home games against Leeds, winning six in a row (D1) since a defeat in December 1999, when Stephen McPhail scored both goals in a 2-0 Whites win
- They are winless in their three midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games this season (D1 L2), including a 3-1 loss at Leeds in December
- Rosenior is aiming to become the first Blues boss to win his first three Premier League home games since Maurizio Sarri in September 2018
- The Englishman has failed to win either of his two previous meetings with Leeds, drawing 0-0 at home and losing 3-1 away during the 2023/24 Championship campaign with Hull City
- Those games are also the only two previous meetings between Rosenior and Farke
- Joao Pedro has been directly involved in four goals in his last four home Premier League appearances for Chelsea (3 goals, 1 assist) but he has never scored or assisted against Leeds, losing all three such top-flight games (two with Watford, one with Chelsea)
- Following their 3-1 win at Elland Road in December, Leeds are looking to complete the league double over Chelsea for the first time since their 1991/92 title-winning campaign
- Leeds could become the second promoted side to complete the Premier League double over Chelsea, after Charlton Athletic in 2000/01
- They haven’t won any of their last seven midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away games in the Premier League (D3 L4), conceding 24 goals across those matches (3.4 per game)
- Two of their last 25 away Premier League matches (D6 L17) have resulted in victory, both at Wolves (3-2 in March 2023, 3-1 in September 2025)
- Five of their last seven away wins in the competition have been against sides beginning with W, winning none of their last 22 against sides beginning with any other letter (D6 L16) since a 2-1 win at Liverpool in October 2022
- Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin could become the first players to score home and away for Leeds against Chelsea during the same campaign since Mark Viduka in 2000/01
