Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior believes his side must be at their best to stop Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Leeds United on Tuesday.
Daniel Farke's in-form side take on the Blues at Stamford Bridge having lost just once in their last four games (W2 D1), most recently defeating relegation rivals Nottingham Forest 3-1 at home.
Calvert-Lewin was on target in that win over Forest, while he also scored in Leeds' 3-1 victory against Chelsea earlier in the season.
Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Calvert-Lewin were all on the scoresheet during that December meeting. The last player to score home and away for the club against the Blues in the same campaign was Mark Viduka in 2000-01.
Rosenior himself has also struggled against Leeds in the past.
He failed to win either of his two previous meetings with Leeds, drawing 0-0 at home and losing 3-1 away in the 2023-24 Championship campaign. Those were also his only two previous meetings with Farke.
Chelsea are just one point off the top four after their win over Wolves on Saturday, while they are also four behind Aston Villa in third.
Rosenior insisted that he will not take Leeds lightly, but will rather focus on how to overcome their direct approach.
"You saw it against Nottingham Forest, they were magnificent in that game," said the Chelsea boss.
"When I say direct, I mean it in a really positive way. We need to stand up to that and overcome that.
"You watch every game. It's very difficult for me because when I first watched that game, it was as a neutral, I didn't realise I'd be manager of Chelsea.
"Daniel [Farke] is an outstanding coach. Calvert-Lewin is in really good form. It's going to be a very difficult game again."
Richardoghale
1
Let's crush them Blues 💙💙💙🎯