The Carabao Cup tie will offer a rare test for Chelsea's squad depth this season.
Previewing Chelsea's Carabao Cup third round tie against Leeds United.
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Xabi Alonso is expected to rotate his Chelsea team heavily for the Carabao Cup third-round tie against Leeds United on Wednesday night.
After a disappointing defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, Chelsea will hope to bounce back with a win against Leeds United.
With Chelsea also hosting Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, which means two games in four days for Alonso's side, the Spaniard will make use of his squad depth and rest several key players.
That said, despite four expected injury absences, including Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson in midfield, the Chelsea manager will still have plenty of options to select from.
Who are the likely Chelsea starters?
Mike Penders is likely to start in goal for Chelsea, replacing Emiliano Martinez. The young goalkeeper started in goal in the previous round against Luton Town, so the Belgian will likely to continue to get the nod in the cup competitions after Robert Sanchez's summer departure.
Alonso’s formation of choice will dictate the outfielders. Chelsea have primarily used the 3-4-2-1 structure, but the manager opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation against Luton Town. The latter gives him more space to field an extra attacker and rest one of his centre-backs.
Levi Colwill, who stayed on the bench against Arsenal, will likely start in a centre-back pairing in a back four alongside either Josh Acheampong or Wesley Fofana.
Malo Gusto and Pep Chavarria will likely complete the back four at right-back and left-back, respectively.
Valentin Barco is expected to start in midfield, either with Reece James or Romeo Lavia. James played a full 90 minutes at the weekend, so Lavia could be the more likely candidate.
Then comes the main point of a back-four structure: wingers. Jamie Gittens and Geovany Quenda will be eager to be given their chance on the flanks, left and right, respectively, with Estevao operating centrally as a number 10.
Pedro Neto will be pushing to start, but as it stands, he is too important an option as a wing-back amid Marco Palestra's injury absence, so he's likely to be rested and prepared for the weekend instead.
Danny Welbeck will then lead Chelsea’s attacking line, replacing Joao Pedro.
Resting Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers, and Cole Palmer ahead of Saturday’s clash with third-place Hull City is arguably quite important. The newly-promoted side are surprisingly the only remaining team not to have conceded a league goal this season, and Chelsea will need their main front three at their best.
However, the trio may still make the bench and will be ready to be unleashed if Chelsea need a little bit more firepower up front in the cup tie.
Predicted Chelsea (4-2-3-1) line-up vs Leeds United
Penders, Gusto, Acheampong, Colwill, Chavarria, Barco, Lavia, Quenda, Estevao, Gittens, Welbeck