Leeds V Chelsea SS1, K/O 7:45pm

GavRedKing

Tonight is the last of the quarter finals to be played in the Capital One Cup and one steeped in history.

Some memorable, for the wrong reasons, matches in the 60's & 70's right the way up to modern times, will enusre the atmosphere at Elland Road will be nothing short of spectular.

The Yorkshire Police have insisted that only 3,000 away fans make the trip, down from the allocated 5,000.

Leeds couldnt have picked a better time to play Chelsea after the back of losing the Club World Cup and travelling back from Japan on Monday.

I'm going to be optimistic and say a very hard fought Chelsea victory after extra time.

1-2

MUSEIST

Tis hard to see a chelsea win tbh, between suspensions, injuries and tiredness after japan I'm not optimistic. Anyway still hoping for a cracker.

Luckycharms_74

This will be a cracking game "Dirty Leeds" vs "The Millionaires From Kings Road" .
I think Chelsea will win this even though they had travel problems coming back from WCC in Japan. With Torres hitting some form (he should have scored that sitter last Sunday) I fancy Chelsea to win 3-1 :cool:

Mushy

Oh how Im looking forward to this one. Cmon Leeds!

Ps...wheres the crests?

klose

Super, super Leeds
Super, super Leeds
Super, super Leeds
Super Leeds united!

Paul green to score

GavRedKing

Mushy wrote: »

Oh how Im looking forward to this one. Cmon Leeds!

Ps...wheres the crests?

Waste of time IMO.

I'm sure we all know what the crests look like.

applehunter

Depends on team Chelsea put out.

They look to have a great opportunity to win the cup if they take it seriously.

Mountjoy Mugger

MUSEIST wrote: »

Tis hard to see a chelsea win tbh, between suspensions, injuries and tiredness after japan I'm not optimistic. Anyway still hoping for a cracker.

Getting the excuses in early, lads. Eh?

M.O.T.

Mushy

GavRedKing wrote: »

Waste of time IMO.

I'm sure we all know what the crests look like.

Never a waste of time.

I will be insufferable to some people if Leeds win!

chughes

Come on Leeds, we owe them one for 1970.....

Yes, I know I have a long memory

Caveman1

If Chelsea win tonight then I reckon the cups as good as ours, its going to be a tough game though.

I wouldn't worry about Chelsea being jet lagged etc, the planes they travel on have beds & big reclining seats, it's not like they flew with Ryanair and had their legs squashed for hours on end.

I'm gonna say 3-1 to Chelsea.

punk77

From the heat of Japan to a rainy night in Yorkshire.
Counting down the minutes in expectation of a famous victory.
Bradford City await.

[size=+2]TEAR 'EM A NEW ONE, LEEDS[/size]


[size=+3]M.O.T.[/size]

Caveman1

punk77 wrote: »

From the heat of Japan to a rainy night in Yorkshire.
Counting down the minutes in expectation of a famous victory.
Bradford City await.

[SIZE=+2]TEAR 'EM A NEW ONE, LEEDS[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+3]M.O.T.[/SIZE]

Its probably warmer in Yorkshire than it was in Japan, the tropical weather will spur on the Chelsea lads :pac:

punk77

Caveman1 wrote: »

Its probably warmer in Yorkshire than it was in Japan, the tropical weather will spur on the Chelsea lads :pac:

They'll certainly feel the heat raining down on them at ER tonight :pac:

Hammer Archer

I see Warnock is still going on about Benitez fielding a weakened side against Fulham in 2007 as Liverpool manager (despite conveniently forgetting he did the exact same thing against Liverpool earlier in the season). He seems incapable of accepting that it was his own shortcomings as a manager that got Sheffield Utd relegated that year. Words cannot convey my dislike for that man. It feels wrong saying this but I hope Chelsea stuff them.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Mezcita

Phoenix wrote: »

Whats mot stand for?

Marching On Together

chughes

Phoenix wrote: »

Whats mot stand for?

Marching On Together - the best football song ever.....

punk77

Phoenix wrote: »

Whats mot stand for?

Marching On Together (Leeds Anthem)

GavRedKing

Hammer Archer wrote: »

I see Warnock is still going on about Benitez fielding a weakened side against Fulham in 2007 as Liverpool manager (despite conveniently forgetting he did the exact same thing against Liverpool earlier in the season). He seems incapable of accepting that it was his own shortcomings as a manager that got Sheffield Utd relegated that year. Words cannot convey my dislike for that man. It feels wrong saying this but I hope Chelsea stuff them.

Its not like Warnock to want to be in the media spotlight.

Didnt Sheff Utd only have to draw at home to Wigan to stay up and they bottled it?

I'd agree with ya, if I could vent my dis-like for Warnock I'd probably have to ban myself.

Sgt Pepper 64

Rafa Benitez says he is happy to pick fringe players for Chelsea’s pivotal Capital One Cup quarter final against Leeds.

An intense rivalry between the two sides led many Blues’ fans to call for the inclusion of English players, who understand the history behind the match more.

Yet, the 52-year-old interim manager believes the strongest team available depends on each player’s fitness and mental state – especially after a gruelling 13-hour return flight from Japan.

“The strongest team available? It is interesting,” said the Spaniard. “Who knows what is the strongest team available. Imagine if I say Ashley Cole… he is a fantastic player but he plays every game.”

“Do you think after so many games and coming back from Japan he will be fitter than (Ryan) Bertrand? Each game and each competition is different. So maybe for this game Bertrand is the strongest player”

The former Inter manager continued by pointing out he oversaw squad training sessions and would therefore be in the best position to decide what the best starting eleven would be for Wednesday’s critical tie.

The Capital One Cup has grown in significance after Sunday’s defeat, but Chelsea are still competing on three fronts domestically and in the Europa League.

“You put the competitions in order – it is easy to say which is the most important, and which ones are less important,” he added.

“It is not easy to rotate eleven players, and if you will play with the younger players and it will be an opportunity for them.

“But if you lose, people will say “oh, it is a bad team” but if you win then people will say “fantastic, he gave an opportunity to the younger players”. So, it is difficult to find the balance between the two.”

The Spaniard said his squad of players understood the need to keep them fresh but prioritising competitions over the busy Christmas period.

“At the moment the players are fully committed and the coaching staff are explaining what we are trying to do. They are pleased and they are happy with the ideas. Everybody is trying their best to be in the team,” he concluded.

Hammer Archer

GavRedKing wrote: »

Didnt Sheff Utd only have to draw at home to Wigan to stay up and they bottled it?

Yup. Not to mention that they were 10 points ahead of West Ham with 9 games to play, managed to beat West Ham in one of those 9 games, yet still finished below West Ham. He will continue to blame everyone but himself for their relegation though.

JokerD

We(Leeds) will rotate some players ourselves tonight I'd say. Middlesbrough will remain the priority for the weekend. Warnock said after the Ipswich game he'll be looking to change things up.

Caveman1

JokerD wrote: »

We(Leeds) will rotate some players ourselves tonight I'd say. Middlesbrough will remain the priority for the weekend. Warnock said after the Ipswich game he'll be looking to change things up.

How have Leeds been approaching this competition in terms of starting 11, have you's played many fringe players ?

JokerD

Caveman1 wrote: »

How have Leeds been approaching this competition in terms of starting 11, have you's played many fringe players ?

A couple of positions have been rotated, it's had to tell the side that Warnock will put out tonight.

We had some injuries earlier in the comp which meant playing some players that maybe Warnock would've wanted rested if we had a full strength squad.

Warnock on tonight's clash...

Warnock acknowledged that the opposition were likely to rest a portion of their squad, and laid out plans to do the same ahead of a clash with promotion rivals Middlesbrough next weekend.

"I won't play my full team and I am sure Chelsea won't, but they have more players they can rest than we have," Warnock told reporters.

"I am sure it will be competitive, whatever team I put out."

The Leeds manager is taking particular care over on-loan West Brom winger Thomas as, despite a man-of-the-match performance against Ipswich, he remains short of match fitness and will likely be rested against Chelsea.

"I am still trying to get Jerome fit enough to play a full 90 minutes. We have to treat him with kid gloves," he continued.

"It is more important to me that he plays against Middlesbrough next Saturday than Chelsea on Wednesday, so we will have to see. Knowing Jerome, he will want to play against Chelsea."

punk77

From YEP:

Published on Wednesday 19 December 2012 14:21

Leeds manager Neil Warnock faces a selection dilemma ahead of the Capital One Cup quarter-final with Chelsea.

On-loan defender Alan Tate is unavailable while fellow loanee Jerome Thomas and captain Lee Peltier are both doubtful.

Tate is cup-tied having already taken part in the competition with Swansea and he will be replaced by Jason Pearce.

Leigh Bromby, Rodolph Austin, Davide Somma and Ramon Nunez all remain sidelined.

Provisional squad: Kenny, Ashdown, Peltier, Drury, White, Lees, Pearce, Byram, Green, Tonge, Norris, Brown, Hall, Diouf, Becchio, Varney, McCormack, Thomas.

I hope Thomas is fit, though NW may not want to risk him with the 'Boro coming up on Saturday.
Tate has been solid at CB and will be missed though Pearse will relish the chance of regaining his first team spot after losing it through suspension.

JokerD

---

Ashdown

---

Byram--Lees--Pearce--Peltier
Green--Brown-Tonge--Thomas

---

Becchio---Diouf

RayCon

As a nuetral Im looking forward to this ... has to potential to be a cracker.

Francie Barrett

You would think Chelsea should win this handily enough.

SirDelboy18

Francie Barrett wrote: »

You would think Chelsea should win this handily enough.

I personally wouldn't. Chelsea players should be wrecked - the atmosphere is incredible.

JokerD

Francie Barrett wrote: »

You would think Chelsea should win this handily enough.

When you look at it on paper, a fringe player from Chelsea is worth probably 10 to 15 times more than our entire first eleven, but football isn't played on paper.

You never know.

Crann na Beatha

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A_Sober_Paddy

Mon Leeds

klose

When was the last time ferreria actually played?

MagicMarker

Only caught a glance of the Chelsea line up, looks quite strong doesn't it??

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Francie Barrett

Paul Green playing today

JokerD

Brown and Lampard will be interesting here

KombuchaMshroom

I'm only following this match via bbc's online text update, so don't know how Chelsea are set up, but im struggling to see what sort of formation they are playing from the line-up. Back 4 is pretty self explanatory but then looks like 5 attacking midfielders and a striker to me?

markie29

Michael Brown to get sent off in this game.

Washington Irving

I forgot Marko Marin existed.

JokerD

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Paul Green playing today

Has been excellent for us, like he had been for Derby and Doncaster, very consistent player in The Championship.

Francie Barrett

Chelsea look up for this.

klose

KombuchaMshroom wrote: »

I'm only following this match via bbc's online text update, so don't know how Chelsea are set up, but im struggling to see what sort of formation they are playing from the line-up. Back 4 is pretty self explanatory but then looks like 5 attacking midfielders and a striker to me?

A 4-1-4-1 maybe, hard to tell so far.

Blatter

KombuchaMshroom wrote: »

I'm only following this match via bbc's online text update, so don't know how Chelsea are set up, but im struggling to see what sort of formation they are playing from the line-up. Back 4 is pretty self explanatory but then looks like 5 attacking midfielders and a striker to me?

Not watching it myself but I presume Oscar is slotting in beside Lampard in CM. He's done that a few times this season, most recently at Sunderland I think. 4-2-3-1.

JokerD

markie29 wrote: »

Michael Brown to get sent off in this game.

Brown can play on the edge, hope he doesn't get an early yellow.

Love to see the reaction if Diouf did a foul like that.

Francie Barrett

Lampard would want to wake up.

Mushy

Should be 2nd yellow Lamps.

kingshankly

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Lampard would want to wake up.

He will either be sent off or taken off looks miles of the pace

Washington Irving

Chelsea look a bit shaky at the back.