Chelsea v Leicester – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Chelsea faces Leicester in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. The Blues need one point to secure a third-place finish in the table having lost the FA Cup final last week on penalties. The Foxes have won their last two matches after a seven-match winless run which included a UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final exit to Roma.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea are crawling to this season’s finish line. Their last 12 matches have seen four losses and a fifth ‘defeat’ on penalties after the match finished in a draw. Those losses have come at home to Brentford (1-4), Real Madrid (1-3), and Arsenal (2-4) as well as 1-0 away at Everton.

Their only victories in the last six were 1-0 at home to West Ham in the dying moments and 3-0 at ten-man Leeds. They faced Liverpool in the FA Cup final last time out as it finished 0-0 and the Blues lost on spot-kicks. Thomas Tuchel’s side have lost three and drawn one of their last six home matches.

Chelsea Team News

Thomas Tuchel is without Ben Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic, and Callum Hudson-Odoi due to injury. Timo Werner is also absent with a hamstring complaint and both Andreas Christensen (personal reasons) and Kai Havertz (hamstring) are very doubtful and more likely to miss out.

N’Golo Kante could be fit enough to start whilst Hakim Ziyech will hope for a rare opportunity in the XI. Romelu Lukaku should once again lead the line.

Chelsea Motivation

Chelsea needs one point to secure the third spot. With many injuries and several players set to leave in the off-season, it is difficult to foresee a focused and motivated performance.

The Blues will play to win but a draw would get the job done in terms of the third spot and allow the final match to be a dead rubber.

Leicester Form

The Foxes have won their last two matches, both against already-relegated teams. They beat Norwich City 3-0 and then thrashed Watford 5-1 on the road. Before that, Leicester went seven matches without a victory in all competitions.

After successive league draws, they played out a 1-1 home result with Roma in the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg. Three defeats in a row came next: 3-1 at Tottenham despite having more than 60% possession, 1-0 away to Roma, and 2-1 at home to struggling Everton. They have won just two of their last 13 away matches in the league.

Leicester Team News

Brendan Rodgers is without Hamza Choudhury and Wilfred Ndidi in midfield and Ryan Bertrand at left-back. Youri Tielemans (knee) and Ricardo Pereira (thigh) are doubtful but Nampalys Mendy is back after illness.

Kasper Schmeichel is set for a recall in goal. The Foxes look far more solid now with Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans together at centre-back and Timothy Castagne and James Justin at fullback. James Maddison could play off the right flank in this match.

Leicester Motivation

There isn’t anything much to play for except finishing position. The Foxes can end between eighth and 14th so there is little motivation to finish in the top half.

They are likely to be quite a counterattack focused in this match and would probably be satisfied to leave with a draw but there isn’t much benefit to simply sitting deep or parking the bus.

Key Stats

Chelsea have lost 3 of their last 6 home matches (W2, D1)(all competitions)

Chelsea have lost 4 of their last 12 matches (all comps)

Chelsea have conceded 17 goals in their last 12 matches

Leicester have won just 2 of their last 13 away PL matches (L7)

Leicester have kept 1 clean sheet in 25 away PL matches

Leicester’s Vardy has scored 6 goals in his last 6 PL starts (4 in the last 2)

Verdict

This is not an easy match to predict. Both teams have defensive issues so backing a high-scoring match looks-wise. Vardy and Lukaku could be good tips to be on the scoresheet.

Best Bet: Both teams to score at 1.71
Wildcard Bet: Lukaku and Vardy to both score anytime at 5.63
Alternative Bet: Chelsea win and over 2.5 goals at 2.00
Multiple Leg: Chelsea/Draw double chance + over 2.5 goals at 1.80

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis