Thursday, 1st November, 2012
Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo expects a tough League Cup quarter-final after the Blues were drawn away to Leeds United.
Di Matteo watched his men come through an epic clash against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge last night, winning 5-4 after extra time.
The race to reach the League Cup final is on and, with only Arsenal left in the competition out of the Premier League’s big boys, Chelsea will feel they have an excellent chance of winning the first real silverware of the season.
But to take another step towards doing that, they will have to get past Leeds, who have already knocked out two Premier League sides in Everton and Southampton.
The game also has an added twist given that Leeds’ chairman Ken Bates owned Chelsea from 1982 until 2003, when he famously sold the club to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Now Leeds, with former QPR manager Neil Warnock in the dugout, will try to put Chelsea out too, and Di Matteo respects the Yorkshire giants.
relatedNewsStory"He has got his style of football and has to be respected. We will have plenty of time to think about that game", the Italian said to his club’s official site.
"It’s always difficult to go and play away from home. Leeds and Chelsea have a bit of history so it will be an interesting game for us at Leeds."
And on Bates, Di Matteo admitted he has fond memories of his time working with the now Leeds chairman.
"We had a very successful time together at the club and he has always been very good to me, so I have good memories."
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