Liam Rosenior drops Chelsea reveal that will be bad news for Leeds’ Gabriel Gudmundsson
Leeds will be bouncing down to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
In a massive relegation six-pointer on Friday, Leeds beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 to move three points clear of Sean Dyche’s side, and have now maintained their six-point gap to West Ham in 18th.
Ilia Gruev made Leeds history against Forest, becoming the first Whites player since Pablo Hernandez in December 2020 to register two assists in a Premier League game at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke received major plaudits for his tactical decisions on Friday night, and he and his players will be required to put in another big effort on Tuesday night.
Liam Rosenior drops key injury update ahead of Leeds clash
Leeds‘ next test is a midweek trip to the capital, as they head to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to take on rivals Chelsea.
Farke‘s side will be hoping for a repeat of their previous encounter in December, where Leeds beat Chelsea 3-1 on a memorable Elland Road night.
However, now under the management of Liam Rosenior, the Blues are a different animal to the Enzo Maresca-led side Leeds faced that night, with the 41-year-old winning seven of his first nine games in charge.
They made light work of relegation-stricken Wolves on Saturday too, with a Cole Palmer hat-trick inside the first 38 minutes of the game paving the way for a 3-1 win over Rob Edwards’ side.
As such, they’ll also be full of confidence that they can claim all three points on Tuesday, and that belief will only have been boosted further thanks to a big injury update from Rosenior post-Wolves.
The Chelsea boss confirmed on Saturday that star right-back Reece James should be fit to play against Leeds.
James missed the win over Wolves with what was described as a ‘knock’, but the England international has been on the grass and running, and is primed to reclaim his spot in the starting XI on Tuesday.
Gabriel Gudmundsson will have his work cut out against James
When fit, James is undoubtedly one of the very best right-backs in the Premier League, and indeed, in the world.
He’s sure to have racked up considerably more than 22 England caps had he not had so many injury issues throughout his career, but the 26-year-old is now hoping to make up for lost time in that regard.
A superb attacking outlet, a stout and physical defender and a dead ball specialist, James is pretty much the total package for a right-back, and Gabriel Gudmundsson will have to be at his very best to stop him.
The Leeds left wing-back must be on his A game, as he will predominantly be tasked with stopping James if he plays, and knowing when to attack and when to hold back against a player as sharp as him is far easier said than done.
But, the Swede has been in good form for Leeds in recent weeks, and Farke will trust him to limit the impact James can have on the game.