Resident Sky Sports analyst Paul Merson has backed Leicester City to frustrate Chelsea FC on Monday night.
The Blues travel to the King Power stadium to take on Claudio Ranieri’s Premier League leaders in the showpiece evening game. With Chelsea currently embroiled in their well-documented struggles, Leicester will be looking to strike as they enter a tough stretch of games.
Merson, writing in weekly column for the Sky Sports website, has backed the Foxes to come away with a point. (Frankly, many people may say that Chelsea are the ones ‘coming away with a point’.)
"We say every week Chelsea will win this game, win seven on the trot and be fine, but they did not look like winning against Bournemouth. They kept the ball forever and did not look like scoring. This is a really, really hard game to judge…I’ll go 2-2."
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To be fair, this prediction is not exactly mind-blowing. Leicester have looked fantastic so far in this campaign and while their initial success was viewed with the usual early season surprises in mind, it is December and they are leading the league.
The Tinkerman’s team look like genuine title contenders and with the likes of Riyad Mahrez stepping up when Jamie Vardy can’t hit the back of the net, they are far beyond a one-man outfit.
However, the Foxes are heading into a tough few weeks with their next four fixtures coming against Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Ouch.
Having said that, should they manage to cobble together a couple of draw and perhaps the one win, Leicester will start to realistically dream about Premier League glory.
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With that in mind, taking advantage of a still vulnerable Blues side will be vital for the Midlands club. Merson evidently believes that Leicester are worth their position and Chelsea will indeed fall foul of their former manager.
The Blues will enter Monday’s fixture on the back of a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 victory over Porto. Their Premier League form, though, is less encouraging. After a two-match undefeated run that comprised of a win against Norwich City and a draw away with Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea then fell to relegation-threatened Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
Fourteen points behind fourth spot and currently floundering in 14th position, many people have written off the club’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League. Mourinho himself has even demoted it to a ‘dream’.
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Thus Leicester may come up against a Blues side whose attentions are focused elsewhere. Winning the Champions League is frighteningly their best chance of playing in Europe’s premier competition next season while the FA Cup represents their best shot at bringing home some silverware.
Due to this, Leicester may not just earn a point, but take the whole lot instead.
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