Leicester vs Chelsea: Three things to look for as Premier League returns
There is nothing like the anticipation of seeing Chelsea back in action after an international break, is there? Several players, obligated to perform their duties to their countries, return to Cobham this week and will travel to the East Midlands for Saturday’s early kick-off against Leicester City subsequently. Thomas Tuchel’s men were perhaps unlucky to go into the international break on the back of a draw, but preparations presently would be geared towards achieving a significantly better outcome when league football returns this upcoming weekend. There is, after all, a position at the top of the table for Chelsea to protect.
With that in mind, we list out what could be the talking points ahead of the weekend’s fixture:
1. Romelu returns?
Romelu Lukaku hasn’t exactly hit the ground running on his return to Chelsea. Three goals from seven appearances in the league—and another from three in Europe—is a modest return for the forward. Nevertheless, it would be fair to suggest that the Belgian is yet to hit the standards that warranted a club-record fee in the first place. An injury Lukaku picked up against Malmo made things much worse, ruling him for a period during which the Blues played some of this season’s more underwhelming sides, and while they did get better of them—or most of them—his presence up front has been missed.
Never was Lukaku’s absence more pronounced than in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Burnley just before the international break. The Blues—driven forward by Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley and supported by an entire cast of creators—carved out the Clarets with expert touches, marauding runs and silky combination play. However, they were unable to beat Nick Pope more than once. Unsurprisingly, Chelsea underperformed its Expected Goals (xG) which was 2.2 on the night. Similar to what it had done against Malmo, a fact one could have easily caught with the naked eye upon seeing Hudson-Odoi and Barkley missing gilt-edged chances.
While the Blues have navigated the period without Lukaku without too much difficulty, a return to the starting XI against Leicester on Saturday would nonetheless be welcomed. The Belgian was pictured back out on the grass earlier this week, and an appearance against the Foxes remains a real possibility.