Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior unveiled his thoughts on his assessment of the Blues’ chances going into their midweek Premier League fixture against timely rivals, Leeds United.
Coming off the back of an assertive 3-1 victory over Wolves that saw Cole Palmer net yet another first half hat-trick, Chelsea will look to overtake Michael Carrick’s Manchester United for a top four spot.
Rosenior’s Chelsea side continue their undented Premier League record with four league wins in four games going into this tie whilst similarly, Leeds come into this encounter with their heads held high, off the back of a crucial 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Chelsea boss commented “Going to Elland Road, it’s always really really difficult, always been difficult. It’s a club where their fans have backed them really really strongly at home. Daniel (Farke) is an outstanding coach. You can see in their recent performance as well, (Dominic) Calvert Lewin's in really good form, the way that they press, their energy. They’re direct in a really positive way, it’s going to be a really difficult game again.”
When asked about Cole Palmer following his hat-trick on the weekend, Rosenior replied “I think any world class player is important to what you want to achieve. So, for me it’s been great for me to see him enjoying his football and on Saturday it’s been great to see him banging in the goals and hopefully his form continues that way.”
Reflecting on the win at Wolves, the Englishman responded “Even in the second half, there were some really, really pleasing things in terms of controlling the game, but because the level was so high in the first half, we didn't achieve that level. My aim is that we play a really high level in every minute of every game and we’ve had a few conversations about that in the last few days"
Reece James
“Reece is fit. Issue, small issue, he’s feeling unwell today. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s the truth. Hopefully he will be feeling well enough to be involved in tomorrow's game.”
Cole Palmer
“He's available for tomorrow.”
Andrey Santos
“Andrey trained today. He’s absolutely fine, he’s a soldier, he had a swollen ankle. It wasn’t a great tackle on him. He couldn’t continue, but he’s absolutely fine for tomorrow.”
Tosin Adarabioyo
“Tosin’s looking good. Tosin trained today as well, which is great to have him back and around the group.”