MX23RW : Sunday, May 16 14:14:06| >> :60:21:21:
May 18, 2021 at 8.15pm UK at Stamford Bridge
ChelseaChelsea
vs.
LeicesterLeicester City

Preview: Chelsea vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Premier League clash between Chelsea and Leicester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Chelsea take on Leicester City at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Tuesday, with both sides looking to increase their chances of finishing in the top four positions of the table in order to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Leicester defeated Chelsea 1-0 to win their first ever FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday, so it will be a quick turnaround for both teams.


Match preview

Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga in action against Arsenal in the Premier League on May 12, 2021© Reuters

Having missed the opportunity to move back above Leicester into third place in the table after losing 1-0 to Arsenal on Wednesday, the subsequent FA Cup final defeat to Leicester on Saturday has comfortably made this Thomas Tuchel's most testing week since taking charge of Chelsea in January.

The German has undeniably made a superb impact since replacing Frank Lampard as manager, winning 17 of his 27 matches in all competitions while conceding only 13 goals in the process, but he needs to ensure that his side get over the line in terms of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Should they miss out on a top four spot, the Blues would have a second bite at the cherry against Manchester City in the final of the Champions League at the end of May, but there are far from any guarantees against a side of Pep Guardiola's calibre.

Chelsea's performances in both of their recent defeats were not particularly bad by any means, with the Blues heavily dominating both the shot and possession counts, but Tuchel's side lacked a touch of creativity and as a result could not find a meaningful response to a major error from Jorginho and a wondrous strike from Youri Tielemans respectively.

Tuchel will be demanding a major response from his players against the Foxes on Tuesday, then, with only a win ensuring that a top four position would remain in their own hands heading into the final day's trip to Aston Villa, with the ominous rise of Liverpool in recent weeks creating the only remaining major sub-plot of the Premier League this season.

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy celebrates winning the FA Cup on May 15, 2021© Reuters

Leicester's players, meanwhile, may have woken up on Sunday morning with a slightly sore head after celebrating the club's maiden FA Cup triumph, but their attention must quickly return to getting over the line in terms of securing their qualification for next season's Champions League.

Like last season, Brendan Rodgers's side have held onto a top four position for the vast majority of the campaign, so they will certainly not want to fall out at the final hurdle once again.

Rodgers and his players will have taken confidence from how defensively solid they were against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday, with avoiding defeat on Tuesday enough to ensure that their destiny will remain in their own hands heading into the final day's fixture against Tottenham Hotspur in front of a limited capacity at the King Power Stadium.

There is more than a small chance that they could be physically and mentally fatigued after the monumental effort they put into the final, though, with Chelsea also possessing greater squad depth to freshen things up if required. Rodgers may need to spring one of his trademark tactical surprises to improve his side's probability of getting the point they require.

Chelsea Premier League form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L

Chelsea form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L

Leicester City Premier League form:
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W

Leicester City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • W



Team News

Mateo Kovacic in action for Chelsea on July 14, 2020© Reuters

Chelsea continue to have doubts regarding the fitness of Mateo Kovacic and Andreas Christensen, with neither player included in Tuchel's squad for the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Kovacic has missed the Blues' last 10 matches with a hamstring problem, but Tuchel had indicated that the Croatian would be available again for Saturday's final, so he could return here alongside Ngolo Kante in place of the out of form Jorginho.

Christensen, meanwhile, went off in the closing stages of the recent league victory over Man City due to a hamstring injury, with Tuchel revealing that the defender is unlikely to return until next Sunday's final day fixture against Villa.

The German is likely to make several changes from Saturday's final, with the likes of Edouard Mendy, Kurt Zouma, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic all pushing for a starting berth.

As mentioned, Leicester are not blessed with the squad depth of their forthcoming opponents, and they suffered a major blow when Jonny Evans's muscle issue reoccurred during Saturday's final.

The Northern Ireland was withdrawn for Marc Albrighton after only 34 minutes at Wembley, with Timothy Castagne likely to move into the back three as was the case on Saturday, with Albrighton and Ricardo Pereira providing options to start at right wing-back.

Kelechi Iheanacho failed to impress at Wembley and was consequently replaced by James Maddison after 67 minutes, with Rodgers likely to be tempted to make this switch from the start at Stamford Bridge in order to gain more of a foothold in midfield.

Harvey Barnes and James Justin remain sidelined until next serious due to serious knee injuries.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; James, Zouma, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Havertz, Pulisic

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Castagne, Fofana, Soyuncu; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Thomas; Perez, Maddison; Vardy


SM words green background

We say: Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City

We can envisage Chelsea gaining revenge against Leicester on Tuesday, with the Foxes likely to be lacking the same intensity that they produced at Wembley, despite the amount riding on this fixture, too.

It is likely to be another cagey, low scoring affair with both sides prioritising stability in defence, so scoring the first goal will be crucial.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


ID:447726:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect13553:

Who will win Tuesday's Premier League clash between Chelsea and Leicester?

Chelsea
Draw
Leicester City
Chelsea
87.5%
Draw
0.0%
Leicester City
12.5%
8
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Did you know...?
Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy pictured on November 8, 2020
Read Next:
Jamie Vardy: 'We want more trophies after FA Cup success'
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.

rhs 2.0
Todays Game Header Right
Premier League
Scottish Premiership
La Liga
Serie A
Bundesliga
Ligue 1
Eredivisie
Primeira Liga
National League
Belgian Pro League
Greek Superleague
Russian Premier League
Norwegian Eliteserien
Swedish Allsvenskan
Danish Superliga
Belarusian Premier League
Segunda Division
2.Bundesliga
Major League Soccer
Copa Diego Maradona
Uruguayan Primera Division
Liga MX
Australian A-League
Chinese Super League
J1 League
Women's Champions League
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City36265576294783
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd362010670422870
3Leicester CityLeicester362061065442166
4Chelsea361810855332264
5Liverpool35179961412060
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs361781162412159
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham361781156461059
8Everton35168114642456
9Arsenal361671350381255
10Leeds UnitedLeeds36165155753453
11Aston Villa36147155144749
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36129153548-1345
13Crystal Palace36128164061-2144
14Southampton36127174763-1643
15Burnley36109173351-1839
16Newcastle UnitedNewcastle36109174362-1939
17Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton36814143742-538
RFulham36512192650-2427
RWest Bromwich AlbionWest Brom35511193268-3626
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd3552281862-4417

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!