Credit: Breaking Media

Mark Smith

Wed 22 April 2026 12:10, UK

Leeds United will be licking their lips ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon at Wembley.

First, Leeds entertain Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday, with the Blues losing 3-0 against Brighton on Tuesday.

Daniel Farke has insisted that no thought has gone into Wembley before the Bournemouth game, but he will have had one eye on the AMEX Stadium.

Chelsea were awful on the south coast without Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, who would be huge misses in the capital if they were to be unavailable again.

It was the effort and attitude that will leave Leeds excited, though, with Liam Rosenior watching his side get outrun by their opposition yet again.

Staggering Chelsea stat is embarrassing

Before Chelsea’s defeat to Brighton on Tuesday, Dom Smith of The Standard shared the “staggering” reveal that they have been outrun in every single Premier League game this season.

That continued at the AMEX Stadium, and Leeds being forced to play 24 hours after them, just days before the trip to Wembley, simply won’t help.

Before football and tactics are even discussed, Farke and Leeds are known for demanding that players run themselves into the ground, and Sunday at Wembley will be no different.

There are no excuses, and the Whites will make sure they leave everything out there for the thousands of fans travelling south again.

Leeds United dominate running stats in Premier League

Leeds have been clocking around 115km per match this season, which is in the top three alongside Manchester City and Arsenal, via Tribuna.

Compare that to Chelsea, and they are sitting closer to 106km per game.

On that huge Wembley pitch, Leeds could be relishing the chance to really spread the game through the likes of Gabriel Gudmundsson, James Justin and Jayden Bogle to take advantage.

Leeds made it no secret that they were targeting physical players who can dominate, and that was clearly on show in the fixture between these two at Elland Road.

The Whites won 3-1 with Enzo Maresca in charge at the time, but the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jaka Bijol bullied the Blues in LS11.

Chelsea are a wounded animal right now that may need to return to basics, but if they don’t, they will be outrun and possibly even embarrassed at Wembley.

Imagine saying that a couple of years ago.