Seeking a fifth Premier League win in succession, Chelsea will lock horns with Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
After crashing out of the EFL Cup last midweek, the Blues bounced back at the first attempt by sweeping Wolves aside 3-1 on Saturday, in a game that delivered two of my three selections.
That victory keeps Liam Rosenior’s side sitting 5th in the Premier League table, just four points behind Aston Villa in 3rd.
Looking to keep the feel-good factor FLOWING, Chelsea will aim to rack up another three points at the expense of Leeds this midweek.
However, the visitors will also arrive in high spirits, having secured a 3-1 win over relegation rivals Nottingham Forest in their last outing.
That victory has given Leeds’ Premier League survival hopes a massive boost, and it keeps them six points clear of the bottom three.
How the bookies view it: Chelsea firm favourites
Unsurprisingly, the pre-match odds point towards a Chelsea victory, with a home success trading at a best price of 4/7 with bet365. Backing the Blues to win with BTTS lifts the price to 21/10, a combo that’s landed in each of their last three Premier League wins.
Leeds are as big as 9/2 on bet365 to leave Stamford Bridge with all three points on Tuesday night, while a share of the spoils is also considered unlikely at 16/5 with the same firm.
Head to head: Hope for the underdogs?
Chelsea and Leeds United have crossed paths 110 times in competitive action, with Leeds claiming 41 wins, Chelsea 39, and the other 30 matches ending all square.
The visitors can also draw confidence from the fact that they ran out 3-1 victors in this season's reverse fixture. The same scoreline on Tuesday night has been priced up at a whopping 40/1 on bet365.
Players to watch: Palmer to keep on purring?
After bagging a hat-trick against Wolves last time out, Cole Palmer represents good value in the To Score or Assist market on Tuesday night, priced at 5/6 with Paddy Power.
Having scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season against Nottingham Forest on Friday, Dominic Calvert-Lewin looks overpriced to repeat the trick at Stamford Bridge at 5/2 on Sky Bet.
Predicted line-ups
Andre Santos could miss out for the hosts on Tuesday night after being forced off during the weekend win at Wolves. On top of that, Dario Essugo, Jamie Gittens, Levi Colwill, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Romeo Lavia, and Tosin Adarabioyo are also unavailable. In better news, Reece James is expected to come back into the squad, having missed out at Molineux on Saturday.
Leeds head to Stamford Bridge with a fairly clean bill of health, with Anton Stach their only reported injury absentee. Facundo Buonanotte will also miss out, as he is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Estevao, Palmer, Garnacho; Pedro
Leeds: Darlow; Justin, Rodon, Struijk; Bogle, Gruev, Ampadu, Aaronson, Gudmundsson; Okafor, Calvert-Lewin
Anything else catch the eye?
While it's not the most eye-catching of prices, backing both teams to score merits support at 3/4 on Ladbrokes.
Both teams have hit the back of the net in all but one of Chelsea's last 10 Premier League matches.
As for Leeds, BTTS has landed in six of their last seven top-flight fixtures away from Elland Road.
Further encouragement for this selection comes from the fact that each team obliged during this season's reverse fixture.
GambleAware