Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has nothing but praise for Leeds United as he prepares to host Daniel Farke on Tuesday night.
The Whites sit on 29 points with 13 games left to play in the Premier League. For anyone looking over their shoulders at Leeds’ position, the next three games won’t ease any fears of relegation.
Leeds face three of the top five in successive games in February, starting with a visit to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea tomorrow night.
Chelsea team news confirmed pre-Leeds United: Reece James illness revealed
The Blues’ embarrassment of riches didn’t stop them from being thumped at Elland Road back in early December. That result was the beginning of the end for Enzo Maresca, now replaced by ex-Strasbourg man Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior has overseen a very impressive start at Stamford Bridge, though. The Blues are on a run of four straight league wins while he’s collected maximum points from his two Champions League fixtures too.
In terms of team news, Rosenior is hoping talismanic right-back Reece James is back in contention, as he suffers from illness.
“Reece is fit. He is feeling unwell today. It’s no conspiracy, it’s the truth. Hopefully he’ll be well enough for tomorrow,” Rosenior told Football.London. “Andrey (Santos) trained today. He’s a soldier. He had a swollen ankle, but he’s fine for tomorrow.”
Long-term absentees Levi Colwill, Jamie Gittens, Tosin Adarabioyo, Romeo Lavia, and Dario Essugo remain out.
Chelsea’s Liam Rosenior gushes over Leeds United and Daniel Farke ahead of Stamford Bridge meeting
Rosenior was, of course, at Strasbourg when fellow BlueCo club Chelsea were battered for 90 minutes by Leeds at Elland Road.
So, the new Blues boss’ analysis of the game at the time was as a neutral watching on, as opposed to assessing how his side could learn from the defeat. Needless to say, Rosenior is impressed by what Leeds showed that day and in general since December under Daniel Farke.
“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,” Rosenior continued. “Daniel is an outstanding coach. Calvert-Lewin is in really good form. It’s going to be a very difficult game again.”
Looking at Leeds’ win over Nottingham Forest, Rosenior was again wowed by our “direct” style.
“You saw it against Nottingham Forest, they were magnificent in that game,” Rosenior said. “When I say direct, I mean it in a really positive way. We need to stand up to that and overcome that.”
Can Leeds United spring Stamford Bridge shock with result vs Chelsea?
Winning in London is not something that Leeds managers tend to have success with. Farke knows that well.
However, Sunderland’s win at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, yes when Maresca was in charge, shows you they are vulnerable. Add to that West Ham getting a two-goal lead there before throwing it down the toilet.
I think Farke is doing a great job and hopefully it’s enough to keep us up. What is limiting us from climbing far away from this relegation scrap is our inability to see our priceless results on the road.
Everton, Newcastle, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest are all games where we were in a position at one point to hold onto a very positive result but couldn’t. If Farke wants to raise his own managerial ceiling, he needs to manage these away situations more proactively.
0% Love 0% Funny 0% Wow 0% Sad 0% Angry
Post navigation