Leeds United and Leicester City have both had the opportunity to play away at Chelsea in the FA Cup recently.
The Whites made the trip to Stamford Bridge last month in the last-16, losing 3-2 very late on due to a winning goal from Conor Gallagher.
Chelsea’s win over Leeds then set-up a quarter final with fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Leicester, with the Premier League side again coming out on top late on, but by a score-line of 4-2.
Clearly both sides gave a good account of themselves against top-flight opposition, but at the same time, it has to be said Leicester were playing in far more favourable conditions.
Due to it being on a weekend, they had a full week to prepare and were therefore able to pick their strongest available XI, while Leeds’ came in the middle of a hectic period of fixtures which meant Daniel Farke was forced into making changes. Key duo Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter were among those to miss out.
Having got the game back at 2-2 thanks to Mateo Joseph’s second goal of the night, Leeds were actually the better side and were very unlucky not to take the game to extra-time at the very least.
Sam Parkin shares Leeds and Leicester verdict with Chelsea comparison
While Leicester were in action at Stamford Bridge, Leeds were actually able to overtake them and claim top spot in the Championship for the first time all season.
Leeds have managed to claw back a 17-points deficit on New Year’s Day to the Foxes in the last three months, with there now set to be an intense title race all of a sudden.
After seeing Leeds move into first, as well as both sides in action away at Chelsea, EFL and Sky Sports pundit Sam Parkin has shared his verdict on who he thinks is the better side, on the latest episode of BBC’s Football Daily Podcast.
He said: “Having the benefit of seeing both Leeds and Leicester at Chelsea, I know that goes out of the window at the minute because Chelsea are gloriously chaotic, but after watching those teams take on one of the big guns, I came away just thinking Leeds are in slightly better fettle right now. All of a sudden we have an incredible title race on.”
What Leicester star Conor Coady has said about Leeds form
Given the amount of points Leeds have managed to claw back in a relatively short space of time, it will have undoubtedly set alarm bells ringing at Leicester.
In fact, Foxes defender Conor Coady was actually asked about Leeds’ form on a recent podcast earlier this week, admitting it has been very impressive, but not something they can focus on.
He said: “Yeah Leeds are a good side, they’ve got some great players and a lot who were in the Premier League last season, and some with Championship experience.
“I think we’ve seen it before in the Championship where teams have gone on a run, I remember a couple of years ago Fulham did it in the second half of the season they had a good run. Leeds are doing the exact same.
“It’s a great run they have been on, not one that is helping us at this moment in time, in terms of how they are playing but from a Leicester point of view, it’s important we focus on what we need to focus on.
“We’ve got that game in hand now and need to make sure we do the next few games right and get the jobs finished.”
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