Chelsea look to close the gap at the top of the Premier League table when they take on Leeds United at Elland Road this weekend.
The Blues have six points separating them from Arsenal, and will hope to make up some ground on Manchester City after their 5-4 win over Fulham on Tuesday night. But they’ll need to manage without Moises Caicedo, who’s been hit with a three-game ban following his red card against Arsenal.
Andrey Santos is expected to fill in for Caicedo, but Enzo Maresca won’t want to make too many changes with Daniel Farke still fighting to keep his job.
Maresca will also know that Elland Road has rarely been a good place for Chelsea. Their last visit ended in a 3-0 defeat, which was one of the final matches under Thomas Tuchel.
According to The Analyst, Chelsea have managed just six wins in 48 league visits to Elland Road, making it their second least successful away ground after Hillsborough. This includes a stretch between 1930 and 1988 where they picked up only two victories there.
Chelsea receive team boost despite Caicedo absence
Even with Reece James unlikely to feature and Caicedo suspended, Chelsea do have a bit of good news heading into this one.
Cole Palmer looks set to be involved in some capacity after being named on the bench against Arsenal.
It wasn’t the right moment to bring him on with Chelsea down to 10 men, so they played it safe.
He’s not expected to jump straight into a full 90-minute role, but just having him available should lift the side.
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