Leeds United team news at Stamford Bridge brought the heaviest rotation of Daniel Farke’s season so far. The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that the Leeds boss made eight changes for the Carabao Cup third-round tie at Chelsea and handed out a double debut.
Leeds United team news: eight changes at Chelsea
Farke had spent his pre-match press conference hinting at exactly this. The Whites arrived in west London unbeaten in all four competitive games — five points from three Premier League matches, plus a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the second round — and with a squad the manager has repeatedly called deep enough to cope with a midweek trip. The YEP had expected Gabriel Gudmundsson to be rested after a full 90 minutes at Brighton on his return from a muscle injury, with Noah Okafor, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach among those who could drop to the bench.
Who was unavailable
Joe Rodon played no part. The Wales defender is still expected to be out for around two months with the hamstring injury he picked up against Brentford. Compatriot Daniel James was a doubt after reporting a back problem following the Brighton draw, though scans showed no new injury and Farke was left with a late call to make.
The double debut
Two of Leeds’ seven summer signings went into the night still waiting on a first appearance: Melvin Bard, the left-back signed on loan from Nice with an option to buy, and Jean-Matteo Bahoya, whose move from Eintracht Frankfurt was confirmed after the 11pm deadline. Both were unused substitutes at the Amex. Farke had also spoken publicly of a possible first outing for Michael Zetterer, per the YEP, without committing to it. Our predicted XI for the trip to Chelsea called the double debut 24 hours out.
