The 6 players set to miss Chelsea v Leeds United | OneFootball

FLW lists the six players who will miss out the Carabao Cup clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Carabao Cup action returns in midweek, with an all-Premier League affair taking place between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge this Wednesday evening.

The Blues will be looking to put their disappointment away at Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend swiftly behind them, going down to a 2-1 defeat at the home of the Gunners, despite taking an early lead through Morgan Rogers’ effort.

Meanwhile, the Whites, led by Daniel Farke, also dropped points from a winning position last weekend, held to a 1-1 draw away at Brighton as Jayden Bogle’s goal was cancelled out by a Luka Vušković header in the second half.

Both sides will be hopeful of going on yet another cup run this season, with Leeds reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup last term, only to be defeated, incidentally, by their upcoming opponents Chelsea.

Both Chelsea and Leeds eased their way into the third round of the competition, with the Blues sweeping aside League One outfit Luton Town, while Leeds dispatched Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the City Ground.

Set to be an intriguing clash with two top-flight sides going head-to-head, FLW details the six players who are expected to miss out on the meeting at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea: Moisés Caicedo

Moisés Caicedo has had a stuttering start to the campaign because of various niggling injuries.

The Ecuadorian missed the first two games of the season entirely before coming off the bench against Brighton, where he lasted just 14 minutes before being forced off yet again.

And he wasn’t included in the matchday squad for their trip to Arsenal, with Blues boss Xabi Alonso keen not to rush him back.

Therefore, the game in midweek may come too soon for him, with Chelsea potentially gearing him up to be back in contention for the visit of Hull City this coming weekend.

Chelsea: Marco Palestra

The same can be said for summer signing Marco Palestra, who will be bitterly disappointed that he hasn’t been able to start the season fully fit and show to the Chelsea fans what he can bring to the table.

Arriving from Atalanta, Palestra hasn’t been involved in Chelsea’s four opening matches because of a knock sustained in training, although the defender did reveal to his native media that he was a matter of days away from being involved in the first-team squad.

Similarly to Caicedo, there won’t be too much of a willingness to rush him back, with their game against Hull on Saturday the target for him too.

Chelsea: Jordan Henderson

Action Images

Also yet to feature in Chelsea colours is midfielder Jordan Henderson, who is continuing to recover from a broken wrist sustained after tripping over some advertising hoardings following England’s victory over Mexico at the World Cup.

Henderson has reportedly returned to training in the last few days, but isn’t expected to be in contention to play for another few weeks yet.

Therefore, he will miss out on the Carabao Cup clash.

Leeds United: Joe Rodon

Moving on to the visitors, defender Joe Rodon is expected to be out for a significant period of time.

The Welsh international suffered a ‘serious’ hamstring injury against Brentford and is believed to be out for as long as 10 weeks.

With that in mind, he will miss their trip to Stamford Bridge.

Leeds United: Ilia Gruev

Midfielder Ilia Gruev has been out of action for Leeds in recent times due to a knee injury.

The 26-year-old has returned to training as he builds up his fitness, but once again this game could come too soon for the Bulgarian.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him miss out completely.

Leeds United: Mateo Joseph

Finally, Mateo Joseph has also been struggling with a knee problem and wasn’t involved in the matchday squad last weekend against Brighton in the Premier League.

He suffered a serious ACL injury back in April while he was out on loan at La Liga side Mallorca, so again, the Whites will not want to rush him back and risk him suffering a similar issue.

On Wednesday, Leeds are expected to be without Joseph, with other forward options in the squad needing to step up once again.