Lampard urging consistency, improvement as fully fit Chelsea take on Leeds United

Chelsea will be looking to extend our 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions on Saturday against Leeds United, a highly anticipated fixture not only because of the traditional rivalry between the clubs, but also because of the involvement of Lampard and Marcelo Bielsa in the 'spy-gate' drama in 2019 when Lampard was the manager of Derby in the Championship.

But at the end of the day, the focus will be very much be on the pitch, where both teams will be looking to bag all three points. Leeds have in fact won more games away (3), than at home (1), so just because Chelsea are in good form, scoring lots of goals and keeping lots of clean sheets, it doesn’t mean this will be an easy game. Keeping the good times going, staying consistent, and looking for constant improvement, as ever, will be key.

“We’re playing well at the minute but we can get better for sure and what it takes to win over the course of a season is consistency. We’ve got a good spirit. I think the nine changes in midweek and the performance and result showed that but things will test you along the way on that front.

“We should be very understanding of where we’re at — we’re in a good place but it can be a lot better and it will need to be if we’re going to sustain it through the season.”

One helpful factor in all that can be the fitness and health of the squad, and so far this season, Chelsea have had much better luck in that regard than last season. In fact, for the third game running, we have no official injuries, which does of course present its own selection challenges. But these are “nice problems” to have, as they say.

"Everyone is fit.

“With Giroud, it’s not a case of giving any player assurances over game time because with a competitive squad like ours, that’s very difficult to do. All you want is for players, when they’re out of the team, to train well, get themselves in the team and perform like Oli did the other day because then that gives me nice problems. I’m happy with him - his form is good and he’s training well.

"In that forward area, I have competition for places. Tammy Abraham has been playing very well for us this season, scoring goals and making assists. I never see anything negative from Oli and I have huge respect for him. If he plays like he did against Sevilla, clearly he will get more opportunities to play because that was just a top-class performance."

And it’s not just at striker where we have multiple good options. Billy Gilmour's return from injury has added more competition to an already competitive midfield as well. The youngster may still need a bit of time to get fully fit after four months out, but Lampard has assured there will be more gametime to come, with perhaps a start penciled in for the dead rubber Champions League group stage fixture coming up midweek against Krasnodar.

"We are competitive in midfield. We don’t have injuries at the moment and the numbers do mean some players will miss out on squads but the quality of Billy will hopefully mean he gets some minutes, particularly when we look at the Champions League game coming up in midweek.

"More than that, I think Billy’s quality will shine through but obviously there is competition in that area so we’ll have to see."

- Frank Lampard; source: Chelsea FC

All eyes on tomorrow then!