LEEDS host Chelsea in Saturday's early Premier League match-up. James Cantrill (@JimmyThePunt) shares his thoughts on the fixture.
Leeds vs Chelsea | Saturday 13th March 2021, 12:30 | BT Sport
This weekend's Premier League curtain raiser takes place at Elland Road as Leeds host the revitalised Chelsea.
Under Thomas Tuchel’s reign, The Blues have won 73% of their eleven games- besting the likes of Atletico Madrid- during which time they have kept nine clean sheets, conceding just two goals. Therefore, straight of the bat I am touting an away victory here.
Their new supremo has instilled confidence throughout his side. Since he took over, Chelsea have surrendered an xG of 4.02 in the EPL, the least during that time period. It also looks as though Tuchel has begun to get a tune out of Havertz and Werner, both of whom were excellent in their most recent appearances.
Of Chelsea's eight victories under Tuchel, half have come by a 1-0 scoreline and three have come via a 2-0 scoreline. Therefore, instead of taking them to win to nil here it might be worth splitting your stake between the 1-0 correct score (42/5 with SBK) and the 2-0 correct score (19/2 with SBK).
As for Leeds, they have received plenty of plaudits and rightly so. Marcelo Bielsa has taken a squad of average second tier players, sprinkled with a bit of razzle dazzle, and created a mid-table Premier League side. However, they have not fared well against the big six. Leeds have played seven games against the big hitters, they have picked up just two points and lost by a combined aggregate scoreline of 21-9!
Something United will have to work on next campaign is their defending from set pieces. No side has conceded more than the 14 goals they have shipped directly from them! The latest edition came at West Ham on Monday courtesy of Craig Dawson.
When Leeds went to Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, Zouma found himself on the score sheet, however, he is unlikely to feature here. Therefore, I fancy the recently fit again Thiago Silva at 10/1 with Bet365. He is Chelsea’s second highest scoring defender and is available at just 4/1 elsewhere!
Best Bets
Leeds vs Chelsea – Chelsea to Win (4/5 SBK)
Leeds vs Chelsea – Thiago Silva Anytime Goalscorer (10/1 Bet365)
