Blues to bounce back against Leeds

Chelsea are going through their hardest period since Thomas Tuchel took charge in January, with just one win in their last four matches in all competitions.

Having been such a consistently excellent force throughout 2021, the Blues have lost their way in recent weeks and will attempt to bounce back against a Leeds outfit primed to embark on a nightmarish period of fixtures. 

Chelsea should have the strength to bounce back in this game, with the Blues to win and the match to produce more than 2.5 goals priced at 1.91 representing excellent value.

Chelsea can shrug off Shaky form

Chelsea approach Leeds coming off the back of a slight European disappointment. They were held to a 3-3 draw against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday, with a stoppage-time goal conceded denying them the victory they needed to seal top spot in Group H.

This came hot off the heels of some uncharacteristically shaky Premier League form. Tuchel watched his side lose 3-2 to West Ham last weekend, while their previous two home matches in the competition finished 1-1 against Manchester United and Burnley.

Although Romelu Lukaku made his first start since October 16 in midweek, it was clear that Chelsea were reserving energy for a busy period of league football ahead. Malang Sarr, Ross Barkley and Saul Niguez were all given rare starts, suggesting that the focus of their week is the Leeds clash.

This is a fixture that Chelsea won 3-1 last season, coming from behind to take the points in the dying weeks of Frank Lampard’s reign.

Since then, Tuchel’s appointment in January has seen Chelsea regulate their form, and even if that has not been evident in recent matches, they will surely revert to the mean imminently.

All four of Chelsea’s Premier League wins at Stamford Bridge have produced at least three goals and that is a trend unlikely to be broken at the weekend.

Thomas Tuchel's side are looking for their fifth home win of the season in the Premier League.

Leeds pointless against PL’s best

Leeds travel to London 15th in the Premier League table, having won a disappointing three of 15 fixtures.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men, though, have been in decent form. Their only defeat in the last six came away to Tottenham by a 2-1 margin, although it is worth noting that Spurs are the only top seven opponent they have faced in that period.

Indeed, they have struggled against this elite standard of opponent, suffering heavy defeats against Manchester United and Liverpool, while going down 2-1 at home to West Ham. Wolves in eighth are the highest-placed club they have taken a point against.

Ally to this an injury list that includes key players Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips, Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford, and the prospects of them creating an upset appear slim. 

With Manchester City to come on Tuesday followed by Arsenal and Liverpool in swift succession, Bielsa is not short of headaches.

Mount to make it three-in-a-row

While Lukaku is inevitably well backed in the scoring markets, the Belgian has not scored in his last seven Premier League matches.

Rather, Chelsea’s man in form is Mason Mount. He scored a hat-trick in the 7-0 home win over Norwich back in October and has goals in each of his last two Premier League outings against Watford and West Ham.

Mount is given a 17% chance of opening the scoring and a 32% chance of netting at any time.

For those who believe Lukaku will snap his goalless streak, he has a 21% chance of scoring first and is rated as a 49% shot to net any time.