Chelsea v Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 9 September (kick-off 8pm BST). The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK, and will be available to stream for subscribers through the Sky Go and NOW platforms.
US viewers can watch the game on Paramount+, which retains exclusive EFL rights in the US, although some ties in each round will be available for free via the CBS Sports Golazo Network. In Australia, beIN Sports will show the proceedings live.
The last round was negotiated with a degree of comfort on both sides. Xabi Alonso’s side sent League One opposition Luton Town by a 2-0 margin at Stamford Bridge on 27 August. Meanwhile, Leeds beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 away with Daniel James breaking the deadlock five minutes into the second half at the City Ground.
The Blues arrive for this tie chastened by a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday. Morgan Rogers volleyed the visitors ahead after just 77 seconds before Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard engineered a reversal. That leaves Alonso’s side on six points from three league matches. Conversely, Daniel Farke’s Leeds have remained unbeaten in four competitive fixtures and have conceded just twice.
Chelsea Selection Considerations vs Leeds United
Alonso will have to negotiate the fixture without a host of senior figures. Moises Caicedo remains a big doubt, and the Spaniard has said he is not prepared to rush the Ecuadorian back. Levi Colwill was named on the bench on Sunday with a minor training issue, while Marco Palestra and Jordan Henderson are still waiting for their competitive debuts.
Rotation, however, seems likely. Against Arsenal, Chelsea had Estevao, Gusto and Geovany Quenda all on the bench and could reasonably have expected to feature from the outset, while Welbeck, Jamie Gittens, and Mike Penders offered further options to a manager aware of an unforgiving early-season schedule.
Leeds have their own attrition to deal with. With Joe Rodon set for a long spell out, Mateo Joseph also ruled out and Ilia Gruev a way off coming back, Tarik Muharemovic has a lot of defensive responsibility on his shoulders.