March 2021

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Leeds vs Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm).

Team news

Leeds midfielder Jamie Shackleton is back in contention for Saturday's home game against Chelsea.

Shackleton is fit again after missing the last three games due to a groin strain and is expected to be included in the squad.

Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo came through unscathed after returning from injury in Monday night's defeat at West Ham, but Pascal Struijk (knock) and Pablo Hernandez (muscle strain) remain unavailable.

Tammy Abraham will miss out for Chelsea with continued ankle problems. The striker has struggled to shake off his ankle concern for a number of weeks now, and will not feature at Elland Road.

Thiago Silva is also out, with a recurrence of his recent thigh injury.

Jones Knows prediction

Marcelo Bielsa's team have not beaten a 'big six' opponent in seven Premier League meetings this season (D2, L5) - scoring nine and conceding 21 (conceded 16 in last four games). Leeds have also faced an average of 16.3 shots per Premier League game vs the sides currently in the top 10 this season (245 in 15 games). An away win should be on cards. Chelsea are unbeaten in 11 games under Thomas Tuchel in all competitions, winning eight, conceding just two goals.

Tuchel has proved to be a tricky man to second-guess when it comes to team selection, so that makes tipping up a selection in a player-focused market difficult, yet, Mason Mount is someone I want to back in the shots market for this fixture.

Since Tuchel took charge, Mount is averaging 2.9 shots per 90 minutes in a much more advanced role that sees him support the central striker. It's an average which puts him in and around players like Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and James Maddison in terms of getting shots away.

Twenty-one players have managed to fire four or more shots in a fixture against Leeds this season as their open football philosophy allows players like Mount to get into central shooting positions. Attacking midfielders such as De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Jonjo Shelvey and Said Benrahma have all managed to fire four or more shots in a game against Leeds this season. Mount can add his name to that list, with 2/1 on offer from Sky Bet.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-3

Opta stats

Leeds have lost just one of their last nine Premier League home games against Chelsea (W5 D3), with this the first such meeting since a 1-1 draw in December 2003.

Chelsea are looking to secure their first league double over Leeds since the 1988-89 campaign in the second tier, while the Blues last won home and away against Leeds in the same top-flight season back in 1936-37.

Chelsea won their last away game against Leeds, winning a League Cup tie 5-1 in December 2012 - they've never won consecutive away games against the Whites in all competitions before.

Of the 48 opponents Chelsea have faced away from home at least 15 times in all competitions, the Blues' lowest win rate is against Leeds (14% - P49 W7 D14 L28).

Chelsea have lost away to a promoted club in each of the last three Premier League seasons (Newcastle 2017-18, Wolves 2018-19, Sheffield United 2019-20). They've never done so in four consecutive campaigns in the competition, already drawing at West Brom and winning at Fulham so far this season.

Leeds have lost consecutive Premier League games for the fifth time this season, though they're yet to lose three in a row so far. They last lost three consecutive league games in November 2017.

Leeds have conceded a league-high 29 goals in the first half of Premier League games this season - four more than Chelsea have conceded in total this term. However, 61% of Chelsea's league goals this season have come after half-time (27/44), with only Newcastle and Sheffield United netting a higher share in the second half.

Chelsea have won five of their six away games in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel so far (D1), having lost four of their last five under Frank Lampard (W1).

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is unbeaten in his nine Premier League games so far - only Maurizio Sarri (12) and Frank Clark (11) have had longer runs without defeat from the start of their Premier League careers.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has scored six Premier League goals this season, with all of them coming from the penalty spot. Only James Milner in 2016-17 (7) has scored more goals in a Premier League season with all of them being penalties.