CHELSEA v Leeds United: FA Cup Preview

Date: Sunday 26^th April 2026

Venue: Wembley Stadium

Kick-off: 15:00 BST

Chelsea have just fired another manager—honestly, we’ve lost track, but who needs stability eh? As for scoring goals – well, lets just say if goals are the currency of football, our account’s overdrawn, and the excitement level is somewhere between watching paint dry and waiting for a bus in the rain. What’s our prize for all this? A date with Dirty Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final. Strap in, this is likely to be less a rollercoaster and more a ride on the Ghost Train.

We’ve waltzed here by bumping off Charlton Athletic, Hull City, Wrexham and Port Vale, while Leeds have cleared Derby County, Birmingham City, Norwich City and West Ham United—who must be wondering what hit them.

For Chelsea, it’s seven losses from eight games, and our recent football would give Sunday League squads—still nursing their Saturday night headaches—a run for their money. If Leeds fancy a bit of Lego, we’re ready to build them a castle. If they want football, they’re less likely to get much from us—they could organise a five-a-side against under 11s and still end up with a better contest.

Beating Leeds this season? We’ve not so much come close as stayed at home with the curtains drawn. The way things are going, we’d lose an argument with a stubborn toddler, never mind a football match. And as for our our interim manager? He’s ascended the ranks so quickly, we fear he’ll get altitude sickness, so I’d expect him to be a bit overwhelmed with the occasion this afternoon and we’re in for another reminder of why the Blue co project is failing so spectacularly.

MANAGER’S VIEWS

Going into today’s game, Calum McFarlane says “Everyone at the club has to feel responsible, staff and players. The players know that, the staff know that. We’ve all spoken, we know that the recent form has not been good enough, and we’re going to do absolutely everything we can and work as hard as we possibly can to make sure that we can put in a good performance on Sunday. That’s where it starts. I think a lot of football is about momentum, and we’ve obviously had a bit of a losing streak. That can change with one positive result, one positive performance, and that’s what we’re aiming to do. We’ve spoken to the group about the remaining games and what’s still to play for. From my perspective, the whole group are united in the fact that we want to try and win every single game from now to the end of the season.

So we make it as simple as that and we start on Sunday. It’s the same thing I’m saying to the players. Let’s just get the next few days right. Let’s make sure we’re ready for Leeds and make sure we perform well against Leeds, and we’ll go day-by-day from there. They’re top players. They can perform at a really high level and that hasn’t happened for whatever reason – and they’ll take their responsibility in that, of course – but you’ve got to adapt, you’ve got to move on. You’ve got to be ready for the next challenge, and the next challenge is Leeds. We’ll just try and give the lads everything they need – on the grass, off the grass, in meetings – to make sure that they’re comfortable with what they’re going to face and what we need to do to win this game.”

Leeds United manager, Daniel Farke, meanwhile, says “You always feel for a manager and you don’t want a manager to lose his job, that’s for sure. But, on the other hand, we take it as it is. When some top-class players are showing the basics and have no excuses, then it can be a really, really dangerous side. For that, I expect a Chelsea side who will be back to their best. I expect a side who will try to prove that it’s a fresh start, and right now the burden has been lifted and they want to show what they’re capable of. But we have shown also against the top sides that we’re capable of bringing a performance and to deliver a result. We are greedy also to be successful in this game.

Chelsea have one of the most talented squads in world football I would say. So many exciting players, exciting young players, who can develop. Of course, they are probably not happy with their recent results, but I think in this game, an FA Cup semifinal, it doesn’t play so much of a significant role what happens in the league. We are a bit the underdog anyhow, but also the underdog who has a chance.”

SQUAD NEWS

For Chelsea, Levi Colwill (ACL), Jamie Gittens (thigh), Reece James (hamstring), Filip Jorgensen (groin) and Estevao Willian (hamstring) are all injured, whilst Mykhaylo Mudryk continues with the never-ending suspension. Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer have both trained and should be available again.

For Leeds United, Ilia Gruev (knee) is out but Jayden Bogle (foot), Sebastiaan Bornauw and Anton Stach (both ankle) may all be available.

TEAMS

CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Sanchez; Acheampong, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Palmer, Pedro, Neto; Delap

LEEDS UNITED (Possible line-up): Perri; Struijk, Bijol, Rodon; Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson; Aaronson, Okafor; Calvert-Lewin

LAST MEETING

Chelsea 2-2 Leeds United (10 February 2026)

CURRENT FORM (ALL)

CHELSEA: LLWLLL

LEEDS UNITED: DDWWWD

OTHER STUFF

• Chelsea have played in 16 FA Cup finals
• Leeds last made the FA Cup final in the 1972-73 season
• Chelsea last made it to an FA Cup final in 2022
• Leeds United are on a seven-game unbeaten run
• Chelsea have failed to score in each of their last six games against top-flight opposition

PREDICTION

Sportsmole: Chelsea 3-2 Leeds United