Leicester vs Chelsea Match Preview
Antonio Conte’s men were outnumbered by an all confident Liverpool side last weekend and as a result of it, they suffered their first defeat under Antonio Conte.
The Blues will now travel to the King Power stadium to face Leicester City in their third round of the Football League cup. The Foxes had a tough start to the season, but they will be coming on the back of a 3-0 victory over Burnley. The new signing Islam Slimani scored a brace which helped the reigning Premier League champions to mark a comfortable win.
Well, Chelsea do not really have a great memory against Leicester from the last season. Midfielder Riyad Mahrez completely stole the show and the Foxes managed to win the game by two goals to one. The scenario this time around is completely different and a tough footballing battle is expected.
Leicester City vs Chelsea Team News:
For the hosts, the major concern will be the absence of their number one keeper Kasper Schmeichel. The shot-stopper is still recovering from the concussion he suffered on Friday and that means Ron-Robert Zieler will retain his place between the sticks.
Furthermore, players like Jeff Schulpp, Ben Chilwell, Leonardo Ulloa, Okazaki, Ahmed Musa and Demarai Gray have been handed the green single and could mark their return in the fixture.
Another concern will the absence of Matty James and Nampalys Mendy; the pair is suffering from an ankle injury and they are set to miss the fixture.
For the visitors, the skipper, John Terry, is set to be on the sidelines as he has not fully recovered from his ankle injury. And with Kurt Zouma still out, David Luiz is set to retain his place in the lineup. The manager might look to rotate his squad a bit and we might see the Spanish duo; Pedro and Fabregas in the starting spot.
Besides all of this, Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri wants the fans to give N’Golo Kante a warm welcome when he returns to his ex-club.
“I will be very happy if our fans clap him at the beginning and afterwards,” Ranieri said.
“Kante was very important for us and I think he was even more important for us than at Chelsea because Chelsea have so many big players,” Ranieri added.
Predicted Lineup:
Leicester City:
Zieler
Simpson; Morgan; Huth; Chilwell
Mahrez; Amartey; Drinkwater; Gray
Vardy; Okazaki
Chelsea:
Begovic
Azpilicueta; Cahill; Luiz; Alonso
Kante;
Moses; Matic; Fabregas; Hazard
Batshuayi
Stats: (From BBC)
- These two sides last met in the League Cup in October 2007. Chelsea won 4-3 at Stamford Bridge en-route to the final.
- Leicester and Chelsea also played out the 1965 League Cup final. Chelsea were again victorious, winning 3-2 over two legs.
- Leicester have scored exactly two goals in seven of their last nine home games against Chelsea in all competitions.
- The Blues have only been eliminated in Round 3 once in the last 10 seasons (3-4 vs Newcastle in 2010-11).
- The Foxes have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight home games in the League Cup.
Prediction-
As mentioned, a tough footballing encounter is expected. Both the teams are strong and confident and have that desire to proceed further. Chelsea may have lost the last fixture, but they did show the hunger they possess in the second half and that was the gist. This surely won’t be a one-sided affair as they both are strong in every department.
2-2 Chelsea