Having picked up a much-needed league win against London rivals Fulham, the Blues will be looking to continue their form with a second game in four days. It won’t be easy against Top Four rivals as Leicester City vs Chelsea takes the Blues past the halfway point of the season.
The Foxes, under the management of Brendan Rodgers, have been in excellent form recently, most recently with a win against Southampton on Saturday night, rivalling many at the top of the table. Frank Lampard’s side will have to be at their best to prevent a fox hunt against them but they too will be out on the hunt, looking for the kill.
Leicester City vs Chelsea Recent Form
Chelsea
After a below-par performance over the festive season, including a disappointing succumbing to rivals Arsenal, the Blues have seemingly finally got close to being back on their feet. Having enjoyed a comfortable FA Cup victory against Morecambe and derby bragging-rights following a tense 1-0 win at Craven Cottage, they will now look to push on further. Despite still being some way off the top of the table, the Blues will still be searching for opportunities to leapfrog rivals such as Tottenham and Everton if they pick up form again.
This has been a unique season. It is impossible to understand a team’s form based off of their recent results. The tumultuous campaign has led to a case of ‘nobody is safe’ being enacted in the league. Results must be taken with a pinch of salt.
Individual players, such as Hudson-Odoi and Mount, have risen up in the eyes of Chelsea fans, and others will want to add to that list, especially Werner and Havertz who have endured a tough time in their opening months at the club.
Lampard and his team will be hoping to continue their two-game winning streak. The Blues reached with a seventeen game unbeaten run back in October and November. For now though, it’s one step at a time rather than one giant leap.
Leicester City
Having painstakingly missed out on a Champions League place last season, Leicester are going well. They are unbeaten since the 16th December in all competitions, including the Europa League in which they have qualified for the Round of 32.
Brendan Rodgers will have been disappointed with a draw against Manchester United and Crystal Palace. However, on recent form, both results are extremely respectable. Like Chelsea, they comfortably qualified for the next round of the FA Cup, despite a rotated squad, matching the 4-0 win the Blues achieved with one of their own away at Stoke.
A variety of players have shone for the club this season, but in particular James Maddison and Jamie Vardy have been the standouts in a talented squad. With 20 goals and 11 assists between them, the English duo have been linking up excellently, as well as the gifted youngster Harvey Barnes, who himself has 10 goals himself so far.
The Foxes will take confidence from the fact they drew in both league encounters with Chelsea last season, though a quarter final cup defeat will remain in their minds and this game, after which the boys from the Bridge will have played every opponent once in this campaign, will be a chance for them to put that right.
Leicester City vs Chelsea- Player to Watch: Ben Chilwell
Facing his former club for the first time since he made his transfer from the Midlands to the capital last summer, the talented left back with 5 assists already, an impressive record for a defender, will likely be looking forward to meeting up with the few Foxes players remaining from their incredible 2015/16 title win.
He has been one of the most consistent performers for Chelsea, rarely having a bad game, so he is always one to look out for, regardless of the opposition, but due to the personal connection this has an added edge for him which he will look to pounce on at the King Power.
Further to this, despite a week or two out in December, the Englishman hasn’t suffered with injuries too greatly this season so Lampard can be confident in his stamina and work rate throughout what will inevitably be a tough game on Tuesday night, even though he played on Saturday.
Leicester City vs Chelsea Predicted Lineups
Chelsea
Lampard told the media on Monday afternoon that N’Golo Kanté still isn’t quite ready for the fixture due to a hamstring strain, meaning he won’t be available, but there weren’t any other concerns. There will need to be some rotation with the fixture coming soon after the derby game on Saturday, so the starting eleven will likely look slightly adjusted compared to the one seen at Craven Cottage, with players such as Silva and Giroud going to the bench to ensure they remain fit.
The sub-par performance seen in the derby could also mean the holding midfielders are dropped in favour of youngster Billy Gilmour, as well as a potential return for Reece James after he has been out with an injury in recent weeks.
After a Man of the Match performance, Mason Mount would be expected to the first name on the team sheet and the rest of the team fills in according to the form we have come to know this season, with it seeming likely that Lampard’s preferred 4-3-3 system continues to be used, although it is possible that a change to 4-2-3-1 occurs in order to accommodate a more defensive style.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy; James, Zouma, Rüdiger, Chilwell; Gilmour, Mount, Havertz; Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Pulisic
Leicester City
With Brendan Rodgers’ men also having played on Saturday, rotation is expected from them, though if anything it will be a stronger team to face the Blues, despite the inclusion of Vardy being a potential doubt due to his fitness although Rodgers implied that the striker would be fit for the game in his press conference. The Foxes’ head coach also confirmed to the press that Dennis Praet remains out with a long term injury and that defensive midfielder Papy Mendy has a ‘slight strain in his neck’.
The former Chelsea youth coach also has a right-back selection headache to rival that of Chelsea’s winger dilemma, so it is hard to say with any certainty who will end up in that position, although James Justin appears the most likely.
With that in mind, the 4-2-3-1 system will likely continue, as the team has performed well in this setup, most recently with a dominant performance against Southampton in which the aforementioned Justin was Man of the Match among a strong team performance.
Leicester City Predicted XI: Schmeichel; Justin, Fofana, Evans, Castagne; Tielemans, Ndidi; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Leicester City vs Chelsea: Final Thoughts
- When? Tuesday 19th January
- What? Leicester City vs Chelsea
- Where? King Power Stadium
- Kick Off: 20:15pm (GMT)
- Match Officials: Referee: Craig Pawson. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Sian Massey-Ellis. Fourth Official: Jonathon Moss. VAR: Andre Marriner. Assistant VAR: Stephen Child.
Written by Noah Robson (@noahr24_)
Edited by Rob Pratley