
Chelsea vs Leeds Prediction and Betting Tips: Back Bamford to find the net at Stamford Bridge

Three days on from suffering Wembley heartbreak after extra-time against Liverpool in the EFL Cup final, Chelsea have to dust themselves down and prepare for a visit from Championship high-flyers Leeds United in the FA Cup fifth round. Read below about our two best bets for the game.
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Chelsea are warm favourites to regain the winning thread but this is a quick turnaround and they are labouring in 11th in the Premier League, all of which suggests they shouldn’t be taking the challenge of a confident Leeds outfit lightly.
Daniel Farke’s visitors are well on their way to making a Premier League return after Friday’s 3-1 success over Leicester stretched their Championship winning run to nine games and moved them to within six points of the Foxes at the summit.
Team news
Mauricio Pochettino may opt to shuffle his Chelsea pack with this match coming only three days on from Sunday’s EFL Cup final defeat and Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk are pushing for starts.
Thiago Silva missed Sunday’s final with a groin problem and must be assessed and, although Marc Cucurella is closing in on his return, this match comes too soon.
Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu are still missing for the Blues while Cesare Casadei is cup-tied.
Leeds striker Patrick Bamford returned from a calf injury with a goal from the bench against Leicester on Friday and he could make the starting line-up this time, but Sam Byram, Pascal Struijk, Stuart Dallas and Karl Darlow remain unavailable.
Chelsea vs Leeds Tips
- Both teams to score & over 2.5 goals @ 21/20 BetMGM
- Patrick Bamford to score at any time @ 7/2 BetMGM
Leeds will have to weigh up their priorities but they are unlikely to pass up the chance of reaching the FA Cup quarter-final just because they are sitting second in the Championship and are desperate to secure automatic promotion.
With Chelsea dealing with a quick turnaround, Farke’s side should sense the possibility of an upset and they have the attacking talent to give the Blues a real scare.
Leeds are on a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions, having won nine in a row in the Championship, and have failed to score only once in 16 matches.
With Crysencio Summerville, Joel Piroe, Daniel James, Georginio Rutter, Wilfried Gnonto and Bamford fighting for places in forward areas, Leeds boast serious firepower and can breach a Chelsea defence that has conceded in five of their last six games.
The Blues have conceded in nine of their 12 home league games this season while they also conceded in both legs of their EFL Cup semi-final with Middlesbrough, losing 1-0 at the Riverside before responding with a 6-1 rout at Stamford Bridge.
Boro are far inferior to Leeds in the Championship this season - they trail them by 28 points - and Pochettino’s men shouldn’t be expecting such an easy ride against them.
That said, Leeds needed extra-time in their fourth-round replay at Plymouth and may struggle to keep Chelsea at bay, with both teams to score in a match featuring at least three goals providing the best value.
Backing Bamford to get on the scoresheet is also worthy of interest.
The 30-year-old has hit serious form since the turn of the year and netted his sixth goal in 10 appearances since New Year’s Day in Friday’s 3-1 win over Leicester.
Bamford was on target in Leeds’ 3-0 win at Peterborough in the third round and he is fancied to get the nod in attack at Stamford Bridge.
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