Chelsea vs Leicester City Match Preview
Conte out to prove that he’s very much the man for the Stamford Bridge hotseat
The last two teams to be crowned English Premier League champions meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, in the first match of a fascinating game round.
Chelsea are 5 points adrift of leaders Manchester City, while the defending champions sit in 12th place in the table, a further 5 points behind the Blues.
The anticipated return of John Terry has been hogging most of the pre-match headlines, until bookmakers suddenly suspended betting on Antonio Conte being the next Premier League manager to go, sparking mass hysteria on social media.
Goal projections – Chelsea 2.04 Leicester City 0.98
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Team news & predicted starting line-ups for Chelsea v Leicester City
Antonio Conte finally went with a 3-man defence in Gameweek 7 and the Blues went on to claim all 3 points, running out 2-0 winners over Hull City.
Question marks remain over whether Conte will stick with the system this weekend and how he will accommodate his returning skipper.
Claudio Ranieri may have one eye on next week’s Champions League encounter with FC Copenhagen and the ‘Tinkerman’ has already indicated that he will rotate his side this weekend.
Chelsea fantasy player to watch
David Luiz remains something of an enigma and he might be in for an eventful afternoon, if he is chosen to form part of a 3-man defence, alongside Terry and Gary Cahill.
Terry and Cahill are not the quickest, so Luiz could find himself under the microscope again if he is found wanting against the searing pace of Jamie Vardy and co.
Chelsea team news
Willian will miss out due to a family bereavement, while Victor Moses is at the centre of a storm following his withdrawal from the Nigeria squad.
Moses, who limped off against Hull City and fellow countryman Isaac Success of Watford have upset the Nigerian FA, with the organisation even threatening to involve FIFA, should either player be deemed fit enough to be included this weekend, so it remains to be seen if Moses will feature against Leicester.
Kurt Zouma remains sidelined.
Predicted starting line-up for Chelsea
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Leicester City fantasy player to watch
Christian Fuchs could be the man to watch for Leicester City, with so much uncertainly about who will occupy the right wing-back position for Chelsea.
The Austrian skipper is never shy when it comes to bombing forward and he is more than capable of exploiting any cracks in Chelsea’s right flank.
Leicester City team news
Nampalys Mendy, Yohan Benalouane and Matty James are all long-term absentees but Ranieri is expecting Danny Drinkwater to be passed fit, after overcoming his groin problem.
Despite suggesting that he will tinker with his line-up, the Leicester boss is expected to start with his customary 4-4-2 formation. Jamie Vardy and Islam Slimani should spearhead the Foxes attack.
Predicted starting line-up for Leicester City
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Will the champions’ attack prove to be too hot for the Chelsea defence in Gameweek 8 or will Conte collect all 3 points to allay those ‘sacking’ fears ?