Man City 3 Leeds United 2: Lee Sobot's Video Verdict
The Premier League title challengers will be without a key player for Wednesday's Elland Road meeting with Leeds United.
Chelsea will be without key midfielder Moises Caicedo for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Leeds United after he was sent off against Arsenal.
Caicedo was shown a straight red card in the first-half of Sunday’s fiery North London derby for a studs-first challenge on Mikel Merino. The Chelsea midfielder was initially booked but had that yellow card upgraded after a VAR check, forcing his side to play 50 minutes of a 1-1 against title favourites Arsenal with 10 men.
FA rules state Caicedo, who joined Chelsea for £100million in 2023, will receive an automatic three-game ban for violent conduct following the red card, the first of which will be served on Wednesday. The Ecuador international’s absence is a major blow, given he has been one of the Premier League’s best midfielders this season.
“I just said there, he asked me about Moises' red card. It's a red card, but why was Bentancur's against Reece not a red card when we were at Spurs away [last season]?” Maresca told Football.London. “So us, as a manager, we struggle to understand why they judge in different way.
“Moises' is red card, yes. Bentancur's is a red card, yes. Why they don't give him a red card? It's just that, that we struggle to understand. The reality is that it's red card. But why they judge in different way?”
Caicedo has arguably been Chelsea’s best player this season and so his absence for Wednesday’s trip to Elland Road is a big blow for the Blues. Maresca has a big task on his hands finding a solution to replace the Ecuadorian with midfield injuries also piling up.
Midfield issues for Chelsea and Leeds United
£53million signing Romeo Lavia suffered a quadriceps injury in a Champions League game last month while Dario Essugo underwent surgery on a thigh injury in September. The latter returned to training last week but will need to be managed carefully, with initial suggestions he could be out until the New Year.
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Maresca played Reece James in central midfield alongside Caicedo on Sunday and while the natural full-back was excellent, he played the full 90 minutes and it remains to be seen if he’ll be fit to start again at Elland Road. Chelsea also welcomed Cole Palmer back into the squad for that game against Arsenal but he didn’t come on.
Leeds are having midfield issues of their own, with Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff both missing Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Manchester City. The latter is expected to be out for four to six weeks with a calf injury which could see him miss as many as nine Premier League games.
Stach suffered a concussion against Aston Villa and remains a doubt going into Wednesday, with Farke starting his Championship title-winning trio of Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Ao Tanaka at the Etihad. There are also concerns over Dan James going into Wednesday’s meeting with Chelsea after the winger came off at City with a hamstring injury.
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