Chelsea vs. Leicester City – EPL December 2018 Preview and Scores

Match Preview

Chelsea

Chelsea are set to welcome Leicester to Stamford Bridge in this weekend’s premier league match in a bid to make it three wins in a row and solidify their grip on top four.

The Blues have been defeated by Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers laterly,  and victory over Claude Puel’s side will definitely keep them in contention for the champions league places.

The Stamford Bridge side are still struggling in some matches they ought not to be due to fatigue or finishing. In the final third, lack of clinical finishing has haunted the blues this season.

Strikers Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud have been hiting blanks and this has had Maurizio Sarri changing to system to play Eden Hazard in a false nine position.

Hazard has now scored 10 goals in all competitions this season, but it is nine assists in the Premier League which have perhaps made him the standout player in English football during the first half of the campaign.

Chelsea Team News

Sarri will recall the players who missed out against Bournemouth, with David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante all likely to feature in the team.

Eden Hazard is likely to start in his natural position as Olivier Giroud could be started up front due to Alvaro Morata’s injury.

Gary Cahill and Victor Moses are the confirmed players who will miss out due to injury.

Chelsea possible starting eleven:

Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Giroud, Hazard

Liecester City

Leicester make the trip to Stamford Bridge having dropped down to 12th position in the standings, although the Foxes remain just three points adrift of seventh-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Foxes have registered just one point from their last three outings in the Premier League, and it has been enough for the East Midlands outfit to drop down into the bottom half of the table.

Another problem facing the team is scoring of goals as it has now been 11 games since Leicester last scored more than two goals in a Premier League fixture.

Puel must now find away to make his strikers fire again, especially as they face a strong Chelsea side who have what it takes to do serious damage.

Leicester Team News

Jamie Vardy is facing a late fitness race to be fit for this match as the striker missed the clash with Manchester City in midweek.

Kasper Schmeichel, Ricardo Pereira, Wes Morgan and Maddison will likely be called up into the starting 11 as some were rested during the midweek match.

Jonny Evans is also back after a suspension. Ben Chillwell is the only injured player confirmed not to have any playing potential this weekend.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Maguire, Fuchs; Mendy, Ndidi; Gray, Maddison, Ghezzal, Vardy

Head To Head

Saturday’s game will represent the 113th competitive meeting between the two clubs, with Chelsea recording 56 wins in comparison to 25 victories for Leicester.

Scores

Chelsea 0 -1 Leicester

                       Vardy 51′

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