Chelsea will look to build further on positive momentum when they welcome relegation-candidates Leicester City to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday.
This fixture will pit home manager Enzo Maresca against the club he left in the summer to move to West London, and he has already earned a win over the Foxes this season, beating them 2-1 in the reverse back in November.
Match preview
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After being in the title picture towards the end of 2024, missing the chance to briefly go top of the Premier League in mid-December, Chelsea’s league season has imploded.
A five-game winning streak that ended with a draw at Everton has been followed by a run of just three wins in 11 league games, including five defeats.
However, the three wins in that time have all come in their previous three home matches, scoring nine in the process against Wolves, West Ham United and Southampton, handing Maresca the opportunity to win four in a row at home for the first time since taking over.
Against this level of opposition, it is imperative that this feat is met, with the race for Champions League football remaining incredibly competitive.
After the performances of England’s clubs in Europe during the week, it now looks even more likely that the top five will earn a spot in the Champions League next season, and the Blues currently lie fifth, but only six points separate the eight teams between third and 10th.
Chelsea were one of the English clubs who performed well in midweek, beating Danish giants Copenhagen 2-1 at Parken in the first leg of their Conference League last 16 tie.
Following that 4-0 win over Southampton last midweek, the hosts will be huge favourites to make it three in a row across all competitions, and their form against Leicester is impressive, with five wins from the previous six head-to-heads.
Despite losing at Ipswich Town in December, there should be very few fans fearing a second loss against a promoted club in the same season for the first time in 12 years, especially when it is taken into consideration that the Foxes have lost 11 of their last 12 league matches.
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Leicester have only won once in 11 trips to Stamford Bridge too, and they have not been in as bad a run of form on any of those previous visits as they are right now.
Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s side became the first in top-flight history to lose six straight home games without scoring in a single season after being thrashed 4-0 by Brentford two weeks ago, before a 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium against West Ham which drew more huge criticism.
Another defeat of a similar scoreline would see Leicester lose five straight matches by a two-goal margin for the first time in 95 years, while pushing them further towards the Premier League trapdoor.
It is a surprise to many that Van Nistelrooy is still in the job, but given the level of opposition they will be up against here, it is unlikely much will be read into the outcome, barring another thrashing.
Leicester were also slightly fortunate that the other three sides in the relegation picture all lost last time out, so the Foxes remain just five points adrift, despite taking only 17 points all season.
Team News
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Chelsea will be without Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu until after the international break, but Romeo Lavia has returned to training and should return in the next week or so.
Maresca named a relatively strong side in Europe for the first time this season, with Cole Palmer playing his first minutes on the continent, but his wait for a goal goes on, following eight games without one.
Reece James was used in an unfamiliar midfield role, and performed well, scoring the opening goal in the Danish capital, and it could be something Maresca experiments with further, especially with fellow right-back Malo Gusto set to be passed fit.
Leicester’s own right-back Woyo Coulibaly has passed a fitness test and will be available here, meaning the only two injury absentees remain Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu.
Fans have been pleading for Stephy Mavididi to get more minutes in the side, and this could finally be the fixture in which he is handed a start after six successive matches where he has only been a substitute.
Rotation at centre-back has been commonplace in the past few weeks, with Jannik Vestergaard coming back in for Caleb Okoli last time out, but the Italian could return after another defeat.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; James, Enzo, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Nkunku
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Soumare; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
We say: Chelsea 4-0 Leicester City
There could be many similarities to this fixture for Chelsea to the one against Southampton in their last league outing, with Leicester also limping towards relegation.
Eleven defeats in 12 games is a damning statistic, and it will be a very tall order for the visitors to improve on that here, despite beating Chelsea’s rivals Tottenham Hotspur recently.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
