Chelsea vs Leeds Prediction and Betting Tips: Beleaguered Blues Meet Preening Peacocks In FA Cup Semifinal Showdown

After just 106 days in charge, the Blues parted ways with Liam Rosenior following a string of poor results. Nonetheless, they find themselves at Wembley for another FA Cup semi-final.

Calum McFarlane is the man tasked with taking interim charge of the Blues for a second time this season.

McFarlane drew 1-1 with Man City in his first match as interim Blues boss, and we're expecting him to also get a result at Wembley when Chelsea face Leeds on Sunday afternoon.

However, he will be under no illusions about this Chelsea side, who have lost five Premier League matches in a row without scoring.

Leeds, meanwhile, rescued a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Wednesday to reach the 40-point mark. While not completely safe from relegation, they’re certainly moving away from it.

Daniel Farke has led his team to their first FA Cup semi-final since the 1986/87 season, aiming to reach their first such final in over 50 years. 

Leeds will enter this game in fairly decent form, which means they will fancy their chances of causing an upset. 

They must also overturn a poor record at the new Wembley, where they’ve lost both games since the early 2000s.

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It may appear strange to tip both teams to score here when Chelsea have gone five consecutive Premier League matches without finding the net. However, the matches between the two sides this season suggest we're going to see goals.

The two sides met for the first time this season in December, with Leeds beating Chelsea in a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge. Things didn't get better for the Blues when they travelled to Elland Road, with both sides cancelling each other out in a 2-2 draw.

Both league matches between the two sides this season have seen over 3.5 goals scored, so history does suggest that predicting both teams to score may be worth it.

Tipping a team that has lost every single one of its last five Premier League matches, all without scoring, not to lose an FA Cup semi-final may also seem strange. However, the new manager bounce is a real thing, and the boost in morale could tip Chelsea over the edge and lead them to victory.

While our official match prediction is for the Blues to win 3-2 inside 90 minutes, we're going with a 'double chance' win or draw pick for the second leg of our Chelsea vs Leeds bet builder.

Chelsea don't look like they're going to finish inside the Champions League spots come this season, so winning the FA Cup is the only real chance that they have of finishing the campaign on a high note.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is Leeds’ top goalscorer in the Premier League with 11 goals. His tally alone accounts for 25% of the club’s total this season. However, he’s also been performing strongly in the FA Cup.

He has a strong personal record of winning all four of his scoring appearances, which will encourage Farke’s team. Calvert-Lewin scored a penalty against West Ham in the previous round in both regulation time and the shootout.

The former Everton man has now scored twice in his last four games, and will be a threat to a Chelsea team that’s searching for stability. 

He scored the third goal when these teams met at Elland Road in the Premier League, which makes him our pick to score this weekend.

Sánchez; Acheampong, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Fernández, Caicedo; Palmer, Pedro, Neto; Delap

Perri; Struijk, Bijol, Rodon; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson; Aaronson, Okafor; Calvert-Lewin

Chelsea will be without Estevao after he suffered a serious hamstring injury early in last weekend’s loss to Manchester United.

He joins Reece James (thigh), Filip Jorgensen (groin), Levi Colwill (knee/fitness), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (thigh) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping ban) on the sidelines.

However, there was good news from interim head coach McFarlane on Friday as he confirmed that Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer were back in training after their respective thigh and hamstring issues.

Anton Stach is the only injury absentee for Leeds, with the German’s World Cup involvement in doubt as he recovers from an ankle issue.

Ao Tanaka is back in the fold after appearing to pick up a knock against Manchester United two weeks ago.