JAVI GRACIA is weighing up his strike options as he looks for history to repeat itself on a personal level when Leeds United head to struggling Chelsea on Saturday.

It marks the Spaniard’s third game in charge of the Whites and sparked memories of his time in the dugout at Watford during the 2017-18 campaign, when the Hornets stunned the Blues 4-1.

That was also his third game in charge of a club and he hopes to repeat the trick at Stamford Bridge.

“I remember that game perfectly because it was my second (league) game in charge at Watford and my first game at home,” he recalled.

“Like here, it was my third game. I played an FA Cup game, then Stoke and in my third game we won against Chelsea, so I hope this year will be the same - my third game and I’ll try to get the same result.

“It was a very tough game, we were a little bit lucky because (Tiemoue) Bakayoko took a red card. We played well, but that did help us a little bit too.”

Gracia revealed at Thursday’s pre-match press conference that he may be tempted to go with two strikers for the Premier League clash, with a partnership of Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter starting alongside each other being one of a number of options.

“Regarding the next game, I think it’s a good option to play with two players up front,” he added. “With Georginio, with Bamford, Patrick with Rodrigo, with Aaronsen, with all of the attackers we have in the camp.”

STRIKE NOW: Leeds United boss Javi Gracia has some big selection decisions to make for Saturday's clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

Whichever partnership Gracia plumps for up front, if indeed he does at all, one thing he is keen for his team to improve on is their finishing, citing it as a chief reason why they exited the FA Cup 2-0 at the hands of Fulham at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night.

Leeds outshot their hosts 16-7, the Cottagers prevailing through converting two of the three shots they had on target.

“It’s true, we have a young team and we have to improve,” he added. “In the last game we had 16 shots and 12 of them were inside the box and then Fulham, with only six chances and three inside the box, they scored two goals.

“The stats are clear, but football is not a stat and you have to improve on the chances you have - this is something we have to work on.”

Leeds United coach Javi Gracia weighs up striker options ahead of crunch clash at Premier League rivals Chelsea