Chelsea – Leeds Utd

In London, the hosts should not expect an easy victory.

Chelsea carried out a crazy transfer campaign this summer. The combined value of the players bought and sold was approximately 850 million euros. A distinctive feature of this campaign was that the London club finished with a positive balance, selling players for 41 million euros more than they bought. For 50 million euros or more, Chelsea saw Liam Delap, Marc Cucurella, Nicolas Jackson, Andrey Santos, and Enzo Fernández leave. From the same price range, the Blues were joined by Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestro, Giovanni Cuenda, with Valentín Barco costing somewhat less. The main change at Chelsea occurred on the bench, where Xabi Alonso moved after finishing his stint at Real Madrid earlier this year. The Spanish coach now faces the task of integrating new players into the squad. It is going well, but the process has its drawbacks. In the early rounds of the English Premier League, Chelsea scored a lot but also conceded quite a few. Fulham, the Blues, beat them 3-2, Brighton 4-3. It is doubtful that in the future stronger Premier League sides will concede 3-4 goals to Alonso's team, but how many goals it will concede to the likes of Liverpool or Manchester City under such circumstances remains to be seen. Bookmakers have made Chelsea the favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.65 on their victory. Leeds strengthened in the off-season with Tarik Muharemovic and James Trafford. The Whites did not suffer losses in the literal sense during the transfer window. Daniel Farke's team in the opening matches of the season showed a high readiness to tackle serious tasks. Nottingham Forest were the first to suffer at Leeds' hands, losing to them at their own stadium in the Premier League and in the English League Cup within a week. In subsequent matches, the Whites drew 1-1 with Brentford and Brighton—strong representatives of England's top division. It is worth noting that Leeds, in four matches, have not left the pitch without scoring a goal and have not suffered a single defeat. There is no doubt that Farke's team will fight in London for a place in the next round and score at least one goal.