Following a commanding 4-0 victory over Southampton in the Premier League and a 2-1 triumph against Copenhagen in the UEFA Conference League midweek, Chelsea is poised to face the struggling Leicester side with confidence. However, despite their strong record against newly promoted teams, having lost no more than once in a single Premier League season since 2012/13, their 2-0 loss to Ipswich in December serves as a cautionary tale against complacency.
Chelsea has only suffered two defeats at Stamford Bridge in the league this season (winning seven and drawing four), and they are now aiming for four consecutive Premier League victories at home for the first time since achieving five in a row that concluded in May. As Enzo Maresca gets ready to host the team he led to last term’s Championship title, his current club remains unbeaten in the last four league head-to-heads at home (winning two and drawing two), though they have conceded exactly once in each of those encounters.
After enduring four consecutive league losses, each while allowing at least two goals, Leicester finds themselves in a precarious position as they ended the last matchday five points away from safety. Manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy insists that his team is “still in the fight,” yet their lack of firepower is evident, as they failed to score in all four of those matches.
Their 2-1 victory over Tottenham at the end of January (followed by two losses) now seems a distant memory. The only other away win for the Foxes in this Premier League season was against Southampton, who are at the bottom of the table (with two draws and nine losses). Although they have managed to score in each of their last six visits to Stamford Bridge (with one win, two draws, and three losses), failing to find the net in nine of their past 12 league matches suggests that even scoring here could be quite challenging.
Key players to keep an eye on include Enzo Fernández, who found the net for Chelsea in their 2-1 victory during November’s previous encounter. He has scored in two out of Chelsea’s last three matches and received yellow cards in three of his four most recent outings across all tournaments. Jordan Ayew was the scorer for Leicester in the November clash, with three of his four league goals this season coming during injury time in the second half.
Impressive streak: Leicester have not managed to score before the interval in their past nine Premier League games.
