Chelsea FC pay a visit to Premier League leaders Leicester City and the teams have been confirmed.
Jose Mourinho will be hoping to better ex-Blues boss Claudio Ranieri and get the three points. Here is how the two teams will line up.
Chelsea FC
Asmir Begovic;
Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry (C), Kurt Zouma, Cesar Azpilicueta;
Nemanja Matic, Ramires;
Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian;
Diego Costa
Bench: Begovic, Cahill, Mikel, Fabregas, Kenedy, Pedro, Remy
Leicester City
Kasper Schmeichel;
Danny Simpson, Wes Morgan (C), Robert Huth, Christian Fuchs;
Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater, Ngolo Kante, Marc Albrighton;
Leonardo Ulloa, Jamie Vardy
Bench: Schwarzer, Benalouane, Wasilewski, Inler, King, Dyer, Okazaki
More chelsea fc: Chelsea FC’s Top 20 Goals Of The Roman Abramovich Era
Not many surprises for the Blues tonight as Mourinho names an unchanged side from Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Porto. Ramires continues in the middle of the park alongside Nemanja Matic as Cesc Fabregas stays on the bench. There is a definite increase in sturdiness when the Brazilian is in there and with Vardy and Mahrez in their current form, the Blues defence will need all the help that they can get.
Captain John Terry also returns to Premier League action after injury had kept him out of the previous two fixtures. A partnership with Kurt Zouma is looking increasingly reassured with the youngster being able to compensate for the Englishman’s lack of pace. The leadership qualities of the veteran are also indispensable to this Chelsea team, especially given that he can now apply them with his personal performances at an acceptable level.
More from The Pride of London
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea player ratings: Abysmal, reckless, wasteful
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
Apart from that there is little else to discuss. Blues fans will undoubtedly be looking to Willian to carry this team forward while all eyes will be on Diego Costa to see what sort of attitude he brings to the King Power stadium.
Meanwhile, could this be the evening that Eden Hazard finally sparks into life? Having Costa actually make useful runs into the box would certainly help.
From Leicester’s point of view, Ritchie De Laet does not feature due to ankle issues. Sticking with the defence, Christian Fuchs has proven himself to be an accomplished passer of the ball so the Blues will need to be wary of the potential for him to slip one of his teammates in behind.
With his ten assists, Marc Albrighton will also need some attention while the threat of Riyad Mahrez on the opposite flank is well-documented.
However, the man to watch in Leicester blue is of course Jamie Vardy. Having taken a break from scoring last weekend, the striker will undoubtedly be eager to get back onto the scoresheet, especially against the reigning Premier League champions.
More chelsea fc: Chelsea FC’s 3 Keys To Victory Over Leicester City
This is going to be good one.