Three changes as Leeds United duo return at Chelsea but forward missing and Gnonto benched

Pascal Struijk and Max Wober are both back for Leeds but striker Patrick Bamford is absent for the 3pm kick-off against the Blues. Wober comes straight back into the XI along with Jack Harrison and Brenden Aaronson as Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca and Willy Gnonto all drop to the bench. Struijk is among the substitutes along with returning teen Archie Gray.

Wober injured his shoulder during the first-half of last month’s 1-0 defeat at Everton and was taken off at the interval but the Austrian returned to the starting line up for the following weekend’s 1-0 win at home to Southampton in which he played the full duration of the game. Wober was then missing for Tuesday night’s FA Cup clash at Fulham.

Struijk has not featured since suffering a blow to the face in last month’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United, after which he was sidelined due to concussion protocols before then experiencing fogginess in training.

Liam Cooper, though, remains out and the captain has not played since taking in the full match of the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest at the start of last month. The skipper then suffered a knock but returned to the bench as an unused substitute for the defeat at Everton. Cooper has since been absent from the last two matchday squads. Rodrigo, Luis Sinisterra, Adam Forshaw and Stuart Dallas also remain out injured.

Blues boss Graham Poter as made three changes to his Chelsea side for whom Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Mateo Kovacic all come into the XI. The Blues are without five key players in Reece James, Thiago Silva, Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy. Thiago Silva, James and the benched Hakem Ziyech are the trio that drop out of the side.

Chelsea: Kepa, W Fofana, Koulibaly, Badiashile, Loftus-Cheek, Enzo, Kovacic, Chilwell, Joao Felix, Havertz, Sterling. Subs: Bettinelli, Chalobah, Chukwuemeka, Gallagher, Zakaria, Madueke, Mudryk, Ziyech, Aubameyang.

Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Koch, Wober, Firpo, Adams, McKennie, Aaronson, Harrison, Summerville, Rutter. Subs: Robles, Struijk, Kristensen, Gray, Gyabi, Roca, Greenwood, Joseph, Gnonto.

Referee: Michael Oliver.