Chelsea will seek to ease the pressure on Graham Potter and end their six-game winless run when they welcome relegation-threatened Leeds United to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.
The two teams have endured similar runs of form since the turn of the year, with the Blues winning just one of their last nine top-flight matches and the Whites picking up maximum points in only one of their last eight.
Remarkably, Manchester City have won more games involving Chelsea (three) than Chelsea themselves (two) over the last three months, while February was a month to forget for the West Londoners, who failed to win any of their five matches across all competitions, with Joao Felix scoring their only goal in a 1-1 draw at West Ham United.
Indeed, goals have been hard to come by for the Blues this season, scoring just six times in their last 15 games in all tournaments since November 6, which is the fewest of any team in England’s top-four divisions – Manchester United, meanwhile, have scored 50 goals in the same period with Marcus Rashford netting 18 of those.
After losing 2-0 to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Chelsea fans are rightly losing their patience and the club’s fortunes must turn around quickly if they wish to keep their slim chances of securing a top-four spot alive. The Blues are languishing in 10th place at present and 14 points adrift of Spurs in fourth with a game in hand.
Potter will hope that his side can significantly improve on their last home encounter with relegation strugglers, after losing 1-0 to basement club Southampton two weeks ago – their ninth Premier League defeat of the season.
Chelsea suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat away at Leeds back in August prior to Potter’s arrival, but a run of five Premier League home wins in their last six against the Whites bodes well ahead of Saturday’s contest.
