Three Things To Look For In Chelsea vs Leeds United

Chelsea takes on Leeds United on Saturday in a rivalry match renewed from Stamford Bridge. Neither side is in particularly good form and three points would go a long way for both. It’s an important contest between two historic foes. Here are three things to look for in the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Leeds:

1. Who plays the hero?
With an ailing squad and floundering form, Chelsea desperately needs someone to take the reins on the pitch and drag this side to a decent result or two. A cohesive, coherent team playing like perfect clockwork is always ideal, but every once in a while, you just need someone to say “get out of my way, I’ve got this,” and produce results through sheer force of will.

Had it not been for absolutely abysmal clock management by the defense, Timo Werner and Kepa Arrizabalaga would have the rights to that title after the Zenit match. Two of Chelsea’s most criticized players in recent memory were the only ones to come out of the 3-3 draw with at least a modicum of dignity.

The game was mostly a dead rubber, but far too many Blues took the “dead” portion of the term to heart. The team that takes the field against Leeds on Saturday will likely (or hopefully) look a lot different than the one that disappointed in Russia. It’s still a hobbled side, but having players like Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek back in the team will certainly help to contain Leeds’ aggressive and energetic play. Neither scream “defensive tenacity,” but if the other option is Saul, I’ll take them every time.

While Werner just about did enough to win Chelsea the match and group on Tuesday, Romelu Lukaku might be the player most poised to take over as a dominant performer in the team. It’s been a few months since the Belgian looked solid and comfortable on the pitch, with a goal drought and injury layoff killing any momentum he generated from his hot start to the season.

The goal against Zenit was a useful first step (even if he just about blew it with his first touch), but an athletic and frenetic side like Leeds will be a big test of the striker’s confidence and fitness. Does he have the ability to become the talismanic piece in a Chelsea side that desperately needs one? Of course, but it’s been much easier to point out his flaws than his successes since he returned to the club. A swift ascent to the level many expect from him would be extremely useful at a point in the season where every match is a slog and there’s little room for error.

Of course, all of these things would be welcome during any match, but you get the feeling that this weekend’s game is a particularly crucial time for Thomas Tuchel’s side to secure a comfortable result. It’s worth keeping in mind that this four-match “rut” has included a win, two draws and one loss.

That’s not to say the team has been any good in any of those matches, save for the first half against Manchester United, but it’s at least at the point where a solid win would feel like a return to the norm rather than a false dawn. Same goes for many of the players in the team.

Hero ball is rarely the best way to approach a team sport, but at this point, Chelsea is holding out for a hero, ‘til the end of the night. Sorry, couldn’t help it.

2. Does Thomas Tuchel adjust?

Tuchel’s Chelsea has been the model of consistency and even-keeled-ness since he took over almost a year ago. While the pieces have been moved around, the system that earned a scoreless draw against Wolves to stem the bleeding back in January is the same one that won a Champions League final in May, and obliterated Juventus a few weeks ago. A confident defense, a tidy midfield and an energetic attack have been able to see the Blues through a ton of sticky situations the past year. Now, however, the defense looks nervous, the midfield is unkempt and the attack seems caught in between two minds depending on the day.

The question at this point is whether Tuchel should stick or twist. Rumors that the team has trained with a back four pop up every once in a while, and the constant reshuffling of the injured list makes it tough to know that the available bodies will fill the roles in the current system appropriately. Leeds presents an interesting opportunity though, in that Marcelo Bielsa is incredibly obstinate in his dedication to his own philosophies and tactics. That’s maybe unsurprising when you have half the notable coaches in the world speaking about you as a living god (looking at you, Pep). Either way, Leeds’ style of play is well-established, but lately it seems like it might also have been figured out by other Premier League sides. It’s not unlike how Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 revolutionized the league for a season before being reduced to just another system the following year. Somewhat like Conte, Bielsa seems unlikely to give even an inch in an effort to recapture the magic of the season prior.

Tuchel, on the other hand, has proven to be less stubborn over the course of his career. Looking at his Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain sides, Tuchel is no stranger to a sudden formation shift or a new tactical game plan. That versatility was one of the arguments for bringing him in midseason; he could pick a style that worked with the players and could be taught quickly.

Almost a year later, it looks like the team might be ripe for another shake up. There are maybe four nailed-on healthy starters in the side right now: Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Mason Mount and Reece James. Everything else around them is uncertain for one reason or another. That core still allows for a lot of flexibility in how Tuchel might build around them. Silva and Rudiger are your battle-hardened stalwarts at the back, who could be flanked by two fullbacks or one centerback and pair of wingbacks further forward. James can theoretically play at fullback, wingback, right centerback or defensive midfield, while Mount can take up pretty much any spot from central midfield to false nine. The flexibility provided by Mount and James makes anything from a 4-4-2 to a 3-diamond-3 reasonably practical.

If ever there was a time to try a change, a match against a side with a well-known and consistent style like Leeds makes for a good litmus test for the viability of making some major alterations to how Chelsea approaches matches for the near to medium-term future. Tuchel has been pretty steady in sticking with his 3-4-2-1, but in this somewhat shaky patch, and with plenty more matches coming in quick succession, don’t be surprised if he looks to reshuffle the deck and get a better tune out of the squad.

3. What to do with Edouard Mendy?

The West Ham match was by some distance Edouard Mendy’s worst performance for Chelsea. The shocking decision that led to a penalty seemed to hurt his confidence for the rest of the match, and there’s probably an argument that a more confident and focused Mendy would have been on his toes to keep out Arthur Masuaku’s extremely weird winning goal.

Whatever mental state he was in after that match wouldn’t have been helped by Tuchel going with Arrizabalaga as the starting goalkeeper against Zenit on Tuesday, handing Mendy his first benching of this Champions League campaign. Add to that the fact that Arrizabalaga played excellently despite the defense hanging him out to dry multiple times, and you really have to wonder where Mendy’s head will be at this weekend, assuming he starts.

Oh, and it’s worth remembering that the African Cup of Nations is right around the corner, giving Mendy one extra distraction and Tuchel one extra reason to feed more minutes to the Spaniard to prepare for Mendy’s absence. After a year of absolute excellence, things have quickly hit the fan for the Senegalese.

As usual, all of this looks much worse when you’re mired in the throes of a downtick in form. Chelsea is still comfortably third in the league, cruised through to the Round of 16 in the Champions League and already picked up a trophy in the Super Cup. It’s been four rough matches in a row, only one of which was a loss. It needs addressing, sure, but getting players healthy and full of confidence is the salve here, Mendy being one of them.

Personally, I’d be a bit worried to see Mendy benched again versus Leeds. That has nothing to do with any concerns about Arrizabalaga, who has become a much better keeper during his time as Mendy’s understudy, but it has everything to do with managing the psychology of a player who plays one of the most psychologically demanding roles in sports. Despite its reputation, Leeds isn’t exactly scoring for fun at the moment, so this could be a good opportunity to get Mendy some minutes where he would need to be active but probably not under siege. A steadying performance on Saturday could have a lasting impact on how Mendy plays for the rest of the winter before he heads off for AFCON. Fingers crossed that Tuchel sees it the same way, and toes crossed that Mendy doesn’t come out and two-foot someone in the box again if he does play.