Credit: Tung Manh Phan/Breaking Media

James Barker

Sun 26 April 2026 14:26, UK

Anton Stach has been named in Leeds United‘s teamsheet for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Farke has selected his team of players whom he hopes will write Leeds history at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

The Whites come into the game off the back of a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth last time out, and are unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are now managerless following the sacking of Liam Rosenior, and they are led into this one by caretaker boss Calum McFarlane.

Leeds and Chelsea play for a place in the FA Cup final under the famous Wembley arch, with the Elland Road outfit hoping to reach that prestigious fixture for the first time since 1973.

Anton Stach on the bench for Leeds United vs Chelsea

Farke has made just one change to his starting lineup that drew with Bournemouth on Wednesday night, and that sees the return of Lucas Perri in goal in place of Karl Darlow.

However, that’s probably not where the headline lies regarding the Whites’ teamsheet, as the bench shows a return from injury for Stach.

Indeed, Stach teased his return for Leeds against Chelsea on Sunday morning, posting a pre-match graphic of himself to his Instagram account.

Players don’t tend to do that unless they’re going to be involved in the match, and that’s proven to be the case this time around with Leeds’ talismanic German midfielder.

Joining him on the bench is Darlow, Joe Rodon, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Sean Longstaff, Dan James, Joel Piroe, Lukas Nmecha and Wilfried Gnonto respectively.

Meanwhile, Chelsea start with Robert Sanchez in goal, a back four of Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah and Malo Gusto, with Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in midfield.

The Blues’ attack is composed of Alejandro Garnacho, Enzo Fernandez, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro leading the line.

Why Stach could be Leeds match-winner vs Chelsea

Stach has been a free-kick specialist for Leeds this season, with three of his four Premier League goals in 2025-26 coming via those situations.

That’s seen him become feared across the division by opposing teams, knowing that should they give away a free-kick within shooting distance, there’s every chance he will punish them for it.

It’s this element of Stach’s game that could make him a Leeds match-winner at Wembley against Chelsea should he get on the pitch.

As per FotMob, Chelsea have conceded 16 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, with only Bournemouth and West Ham (17 each) shipping more from dead-ball situations.