Chelsea Vs Leicester City
Chelsea Vs Leicester City Thursday, 19 May 2022 – 20:00 (BST)
English Premier League
Pick: Leicester City or Draw (Double Chance)
Odds: 11/5
Bookmaker: BetFred
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 16 May 2022)
Preview: Five days on from suffering FA Cup final heartbreak, Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge intent on making it three successive victories against Leicester. The Foxes were well beaten in the reverse fixture, going down 3-0 at King Power Stadium in November, but are looking to finish the season strongly after scoring eight in their last two matches.
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Table of Contents
Chelsea – Not the time to dwell on final heartbreak?
In the aftermath of the FA Cup final loss to Liverpool on penalties, Thomas Tuchel spoke of pain inside the Chelsea dressing room. The German must find a short-term sticking plaster for the remaining league games, even if there is now little riding on the results against Leicester and Watford. The club will play Champions League next season but require just a point to avoid losing third place to Spurs on the final day.
Mateo Kovacic and N’golo Kante were both carrying knocks in the final, many were asked to play 120 minutes, while some won’t be at the club once the season is up. So we may see a vastly different team from the one which fought in vain at Wembley five days ago. This could affect their chances of securing only a fourth win in nine league games, having won only one of the last four here at Stamford Bridge (D1 L2).
Key Stat: Across their last eight Premier League games, Chelsea have gone on to win whenever they recorded a clean sheet (3) but either drew or lost on all five occasions in which their defence was breached (D2 L3).
Leicester – Foxes can wrap up another top-ten finish?
In all likelihood, Leicester will finish in the top half of the Premier League for a fifth consecutive season, and for the sixth season out of the last seven. While this may not seem as big of an achievement now, especially after securing successive fifth place finishes in 2019/20 and 2020/21, it would represent another respectable campaign – one which featured an historic European semi-final – under Brendan Rodgers.
Encouragingly, the Foxes are finishing strongly. Sunday’s emphatic victory at Vicarage Road, with Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy scoring braces in the 5-1 rout of Watford, followed hot on the heels of their 3-0 win at home to Norwich. Admittedly, both opponents were already relegated. Prior to this, meanwhile, the East Midlands side were winless in five (D2 L3), so are clearly benefiting from no European distraction.
Key Stat: Sunday’s 5-1 victory away to Watford means Leicester have failed to register a clean sheet in 24 of 25 previous Premier League away games. They did, however, score themselves in 23 of these games.
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Chelsea Vs Leicester Betting Advice
Although there is still third place and finishing above Tottenham at stake, with Champions League qualification now assured it seems unlikely Thomas Tuchel will risk those who were either carrying knocks into Saturday’s FA Cup final loss to Liverpool or laboured through to the bitter end of extra-time. I’m expecting plenty of changes then, which will play into the hands of a Leicester team finishing the season strongly.
Chelsea Vs Leicester City – Key Facts:
- Leicester would win only once at Stamford Bridge across their last nine league visits (W1 D3 L5), losing this same fixture 2-1 last season.
- The Foxes are the form side of the pair, however, winning their last two Premier League games by an aggregate score of 8-1. Conversely, Chelsea have only managed one win from their past five league outings (W1 D2 L2).
- No Leicester player has been involved in more Premier League goals in 2021/22 than James Maddison. The midfielder took his tally to 17 (10 goals, 7 assists) with a goal and two assists in the recent 5-1 win away at Watford.
The Foxes touch down in London on the back of successive victories, albeit those were against the two worst teams in the division. Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers’ side racked up eight goals, and you don’t score that many if you’re merely content to coast through the remaining games. I think Leicester are a big price to make it a fourth winless outing in five Premier League games at Stamford Bridge for a crestfallen Chelsea.
Best Betting Odds – Chelsea Vs Leicester
Chelsea – 2/5 (Coral)
Draw – 4/1 (Betway)
Leicester – 8/1 (WilliamHill)
