Chelsea vs Leicester City

Stamford Bridge forms the backdrop for a lopsided Premier League encounter between top-four hopefuls Chelsea and relegation-fighting Leicester City.

Chelsea restored a feel-good factor after beating Southampton 4-0 in the Premier League and Copenhagen 2-1 in the Europa Conference League, but can’t afford to rest on their laurels yet. Indeed, they desperately need a win to leapfrog Manchester City into fourth and establish continuity in top-flight action after losing three of their last five league outings (W2). On the bright side, the Blues haven’t lost more than once to newly promoted clubs in one campaign since 2012/13, which is encouraging after going down to Ipswich in December. Furthermore, Enzo Maresca’s men are on a four-game unbeaten H2H run against Leicester in the Premier League (W2, D2) despite conceding precisely once in each, including a 2-1 victory in November’s reverse fixture.

Meanwhile, Leicester’s hopes of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship took another hit last weekend as a 2-0 defeat at West Ham left them six points adrift of safety. Moreover, that was their fourth consecutive loss in the Premier League, with each coming via 2+ goals ‘to nil.’ Leaving the home comforts of their King Power Stadium spells further trouble, not least because only rock-bottom Southampton (5) have amassed fewer points on the road than Leicester’s eight this season (W2, D2, L9). As if that’s not disturbing enough, the Foxes have conceded a league-high 34 away goals this season, capitulating more than once in 11 of their 13 road games!