Leicester City vs Chelsea – Match preview and team news

The Football Faithful

Sat, Nov 23, 2024, 4:57 a.m.·4 min read

Leicester City vs Chelsea – Match preview and team news

Leicester entertain Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime with Blues boss Enzo Maresca making his return to the King Power Stadium for the first time.

The Italian guided the Foxes back to the Premier League last campaign as they won the Championship in his only season in charge.

Steve Cooper’s side haven’t beat Chelsea since 2021, when a Youri Tielemans stunner was the difference as Leicester lifted the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

On Filbert Way 📍#LEICHE pic.twitter.com/gpPuA9SN1N
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 23, 2024

Abdul Fatawu’s season is over after the Leicester winger sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury whilst on international duty with Ghana. Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte will serve a one match suspension after the Argentine picked up his fifth booking of the campaign against Manchester United.

Chelsea have welcomed Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Jadon Sancho back to training after the English trio were omitted from the national squad due to injuries. However, club captain Reece James has suffered a minor hamstring issue which rules him out of this weekend’s action.

Leicester City vs Chelsea – Match preview and team news

Form

Leicester: WLLDL

Leicester lie in 15th position in the Premier League, only three points away from the relegation spots.

The Foxes are winless in their last four matches, having lost twice to Manchester United in that period.

Prior to their 3-0 league defeat to the Red Devils, Leicester earned a point against Ipswich Town right at the death with Jordan Ayew’s equaliser coming in the fifth minute of added time.

A derby day defeat at home to Nottingham Forest preceded their other loss to Manchester United, when the Red Devils beat them 5-2 in the Carabao Cup.

Chelsea: WLDWD

Chelsea find themselves in third position in the league standings which represents a huge improvement under Enzo Maresca.

In recent weeks, the Blues have held both Manchester United and Arsenal to 1-1 draws and dominant displays see them sit at the summit of the Europa Conference League.

“If you ask me, he was the best one” 1️⃣
Enzo Maresca rates Jamie Vardy higher than Harry Kane & Wayne Rooney ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/TDxn6cdXNU
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 23, 2024

They battered Armenian minnows FC Noah 8-0 in their last European game with Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku both netting braces. However, Chelsea were been eliminated from the Carabao Cup last month as Newcastle United beat them 2-0 at St. James’ Park.

Last Meeting: Chelsea 4-2 Leicester, FA Cup, 17th March 2024

There was late drama at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea scored two stoppage time goals to advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

The Blues had gone into the interval with a two goal advantage over the Championship leaders as Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer scored either side of a missed penalty by Raheem Sterling.

But the Foxes, who were managed by current Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, produced a comeback to restore parity just past the hour mark.

A calamitous own goal from Axel Disasi saw the Frenchman’s attempted pass soar past his goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and into the back of the net from 30 yards out.

An inspired moment from Stephy Mavididi then drew Leicester level as a few stepovers provided him with the space to curl a shot into the top corner.

However, the momentum shifted when Leicester defender Callum Doyle was shown a straight red card for denying Nicolas Jackson a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side left it late to profit from the numerical advantage as neat interplay between Palmer and Carney Chukwuemeka saw the latter slide the ball past Jakub Stolarczyk in the 92nd minute. Noni Madueke added the icing on the cake with the last kick of the game as he sumptuously whipped an effort into the top corner to send Chelsea to Wembley.

Predicted Lineups

Leicester: Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Ndidi, Skipp; El Khannous, Ayew, Mavididi,

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Who is the referee?

Andy Madley will be the match official. He will be assisted by Nick Hopton and Mark Scholes while Leigh Doughty will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Paul Tierney and he will be assisted by Dan Cook.