The first of two consecutive Premier League outings at 3pm on a Saturday rekindles a time-honoured rivalry between the pride of London, Chelsea, and Yorkshire’s finest, Leeds United: two clubs separated by reputation and culture as much as the M1 motorway.

The Blues have not lost any fixture played in the month of March since 2019, winning 13 and drawing one since then. No side has conceded fewer league goals at home this season than the Londoners’ eight at Stamford Bridge.

The trip to SW6 is new coach Javi Gracia’s first league match outside Elland Road, though Leeds’ FA Cup mission ended in the same postcode on Tuesday, when Fulham ran out 2-0 winners. In the league the white rose club claimed all three points at Anfield back in October but, without a win on the road before or since, they share the worst away record in the top flight with Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

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• You can be at the Borussia Dortmund game

• Can you spot who is training ahead of Leeds?

Still, last weekend’s opening bow as Jesse Marsch’s successor brought Gracia a much-needed home win against Southampton, who happen to be the last visiting side to claim three points at the Bridge, a fortnight ago.

With Borussia Dortmund arriving for a Champions League Round of 16 tie on Tuesday, an uplifting victory against an old adversary would be just what the doctor ordered. However, any GP would be prescribing only one medicine for Chelsea right now: goals, to be taken as many times as necessary.

Chelsea team news

Bottom side Southampton’s success gave a glimmer of hope to any side visiting Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea must now quickly switch from wounded animal mode to cornered beast. Graham Potter will also be aware this is the last chance to generate confidence ahead of the second leg at home to Borussia Dortmund.

Defensively, although the Blues have conceded the odd poor goal recently, only Newcastle (15) and Arsenal (23) have conceded fewer in this season’s top flight than Chelsea with 25 – eight of those after set-plays. Potter knew how to set up at home to Leeds at his former club Brighton: on his watch they kept the Yorkshiremen at bay in all three league encounters.

Mateo Kovacic should return to availability from illness and N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic could soon be ready for their first action in months – a much-needed fillip with Dortmund on the horizon. Yet just as the Blues’ bruises appeared to diminish, a new spree of injuries arose, with Cesar Azpilicueta missing the Spurs trip after concussion and Thiago Silva suffering knee ligament damage that rules him out for a while.

His replacement Wes Fofana looked assured playing his most minutes since October, but Dortmund is a selection factor. Kalidou Koulibaly could be rested ahead of the Champions League showdown, while Mason Mount, suspended for that fixture, could start on Saturday.

The Londoners’ main concerns remain the lack of goals. Potter will aim to find an approach that brings the best out of attacking talents who have delivered the goods in the past.

That might mean a change of personnel, or perhaps a tweak of system to three in midfield or at the back. But the overriding priority for anyone involved on Saturday must be to find the net, whichever position they play.

Scouting the opposition – Leeds

Given his reputation for defensive organisation, new Leeds coach Javi Gracia will want more pragmatic performances than was the case under the man he has replaced, Jesse Marsch. The Spaniard faced Chelsea three times as Watford boss, winning once but losing the last two.

His two games to date in league and cup have allowed him to assess the squad and issues arising. Chief among them is the long-standing failure to create and convert enough chances. At Craven Cottage on Tuesday they outshot Fulham with 16 attempts, six on target, but none found the net and they lost 2-0.

Team set-ups so far suggest Gracia favours a resolute 4-5-1 without the ball that switches to an aggressive 4-2-4 on the counter-attack. Less cavalier than the previous regime but still pressing heavily, they will look for more attacking width with three forwards and lots of pace.

Although he eventually changed to a back three and took more risks at Fulham, Gracia prefers a back four and, often, another line of four in midfield to frustrate opponents – something likely to happen at the Bridge.

However, the Whites do not hold out well on the road, conceding 12 goals over the last half-hour of away matches to date and scoring four. Overall, only three top-flight clubs have conceded more away from home.

Leeds put three in midfield towards the end on Tuesday to control that area and could do so again. Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams or Marc Roca aim to release the ball as quickly as possible towards crossing machine Jack Harrison or dangerous Wilfried Gnonto, against whom teams usually double-up, with Brenden Aaronson running alongside or past him or striker Patrick Bamford.

Twenty-year-old club-record signing Georginio Rutter led the line instead of the Cobham graduate at Fulham as leading scorer Rodrigo is ruled out till April. Adam Forshaw and Stuart Dallas are also long-term absentees.

Chelsea hosting bottom-half clubs

Leeds, currently in 17th position, are the first of four sides from the current bottom half of the table yet to visit Stamford Bridge this season. Five of the previous six were beaten, three of them to nil. The most recent visitors, Southampton, are the only side from positions 11-20 to have avoided defeat and a goal scored by the Londoners.

Looking ahead to Dortmund

Ahead of their flight to London, Borussia Dortmund were given a helping hand in the schedule by the Bundesliga bringing forward their clash with title rivals, Timo Werner’s Leipzig, to Friday evening at Signal Iduna Park.

The two teams are in a six-way challenge for the German crown, with the Black-and-Yellows currently level at the top on points with Bayern Munich.

Striker Karim Adeyemi, who scored three goals (including the winner against Chelsea) and set up another in his past three games, will miss the match with a damaged ankle and is unlikely to make Tuesday’s second leg at the Bridge.

Conti Cup prospects

Chelsea Women continue their quest for a remarkable quadruple live on BBC One/iPlayer from 3pm on Sunday. Should they overcome Arsenal, already beaten 2-0 in the FA Cup last weekend, Emma Hayes will extend her record as the WSL’s most decorated coach. Sam Kerr, meanwhile, will hope to top-up her Drogba-plus tally of eight goals in five cup finals with her third in a row in a League Cup showpiece.

Foodbank collection returns

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust’s collection on behalf of Hammersmith and Fulham Foodbank will be back outside the Stoll Foundation gates on the Fulham Road between 12.30 and 2.30pm on Saturday. Unfortunately, the charity needs all the non-perishable goods and toiletries Chelsea fans can spare in these perilous times.

Grab the Yearbook

The Yearbook has long been part of Chelsea’s heritage, chronicling the previous season and looking ahead at what is to come over the coming months.

Season ticket holders can collect a FREE copy of the Yearbook from the Megastore at Stamford Bridge when displaying a valid season ticket card, while stocks last.

If you’re not a season ticket holder, it is available to purchase in store for £3.95, as well as online from our publications partner Reach Sport.

You can order your copy of the 2022/23 Yearbook for £3.95 (plus P&P) from our programme partner Reach Sport now!

• By club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton