Chelsea host Leicester in what promises to be a cracker of a game. These two have history and have provided some superb clashes in the past; Chelsea actually have a chant which includes Leicester’s name although I won’t repeat it! Chelsea got off to a cracking start against Burnley last week, beating the newly promoted side 3-1. After a shaky start which involved conceding our first Premier League goal of the season, Chelsea responded excellently with 3 well taken goals including a first for £32 million man Diego Costa. Leicester were involved in a cracking 2-2 draw against Everton and will be looking to upset the form book tomorrow afternoon.
Vital Quotes:
Mourinho on tomorrow’s game-
‘If you play at the top of your game, like we did for periods at Burnley, we have a good chance to win.
‘It’s difficult playing newly-promoted teams, they know every point is important.’
Mourinho on the Cech/Courtois situation-
‘Petr is a top professional, he’s been working as always. His behaviour has been fantastic.’
Chelsea FC Team News:
I’ve uploaded my predicted starting line-up and, as ever, I’d welcome debate and disagreement. I think Filipe Luis will be handed his debut tomorrow; Turf Moor was the wrong environment for him to play his first game and I don’t think Azpilicueta had a particularly good game last Monday so I think we may see Luis start at LB. Courtois will play in goal again and the other three defenders will likely remain unchanged.
I also think we may see the introduction of Ramires in a 4-3-3 formation. The Brazilian was banned for the Burnley game but I believe he is eligible to play tomorrow so I think he’ll start in a midfield trio alongside Matic and Fabregas. Oscar looked a little below par last week, an unfortunate side-effect of having played three years of continuous football. Schurrle had a great game last week and will consign Willian to another game on the bench while Costa will obviously start the game up front; I hope to see him continue his goalscoring form.
Player to watch: Cesc Fabregas
The 27 year old Spanish international had an impressive second debut in the Premier League last Monday, having a hand in all three of Chelsea’s goals. The ex Barcelona man orchestrated the play with panache and poise, dictating the tempo and pulling the strings between the defence and offense. Expect fireworks tomorrow.
Leicester City FC Team News:
Matthew Upson is out until November through injury while midfielders Matt James and Danny Drinkwater will also miss the clash through injury. Drinkwater hobbled off with a hamstring injury after only 39 minutes of their season opener against Everton while James is suffering with an injury to the shin.
Player to watch: Leonoardo Ulloa
Leicester spent big to recruit the Argentinian, shelling out £8 million to bring the former Brighton & Hove Albion man to the team. He scored in the 2-2 draw with Everton and looks a dangerous player with his power and movement. I’ll be interested to see how John Terry and Gary Cahill choose to deal with the 28 year old but expect him to be a handful.
Match Facts & Stats
Ref Watch:
Lee Mason- Took charge of our League Cup tie against Manchester United in 2012, which we won 5-4 AET
Match Prediction:
The history between the Blues and Leicester means we’ll be in for a heated affair. Chelsea began to connect with something of a rhythm against Burnley last Monday but I hope it doesn’t take a Leicester goal to shift us out of first gear. It is important that we get the ball on the ground quickly and attack at pace. Our ball players need to see more in the opening stages and Hazard needs to get involved in the game quicker; it took 20 minutes for him to contribute at all against Burnley. I’m going for a Chelsea win though- 3-0 to the Blues!
Next Fixtures:
Everton vs Chelsea- Saturday 30th August
Leicester vs Arsenal- Sunday 31st August