Our live stream ahead of Tuesday nights Premier League match, Leicester City vs Chelsea is now up, kicking off at 20.15 GMT
You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first, we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…
After a truly dominant performance against Championship outfit Stoke City in the FA Cup, Leicester prepared for a much tougher battle when they welcomed a European-chasing Southampton side to the King Power on Saturday.
The Foxes did not have it all their own way and it was a frustrating night for Jamie Vardy in particular, but James Maddison rifled home in the first half before the ever-impressive Harvey Barnes wrapped up the three points in the dying embers of the match.
Tuesday’s hosts leapfrogged reigning champions Liverpool into second with that victory and remain above them after their draw with Manchester United, but the Foxes ultimately dropped to third as Manchester City cruised past Crystal Palace, although a win here would see Brendan Rodgers’s men reach the summit for at least 24 hours.
Chelsea’s performance against a relegation-threatened and 10-man Fulham would not have eased most of the pressure on Frank Lampard’s shoulders, but the Blues eventually got over the line in a hotly-contested London derby.
The effervescent Mason Mount bagged the decisive goal in the 78th minute as Chelsea ended a three-game winless run in the Premier League, as well as avoiding a fourth-straight league defeat on the road.
Lampard’s crop had made the journey back from Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal with zero points to their name, but the top-four race is very much open and Chelsea are very much still in the mix despite their below-par results and performances.
However, the Blues remain four points off the Champions League places after Man City and Tottenham Hotspur both took maximum points at the weekend, and the Blues also have Everton – who remain three above with a game in hand – to worry about in their bid for a top-four finish.
LAST MEETING:
The two clubs last met in the quarter finals of last seasons FA Cup as Ross Barkley hit the winner for Frank Lampard and Chelsea after being introduced as a second-half substitute to send the Blues through to the FA Cup semi-finals.
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Brendan Rodgers
On squad fitness…
“Obviously, Dennis [Praet] is out for a period of time (with a hamstring complaint)… Everyone else should be fine.”
“Papy Mendy just has a slight strain in his neck, so we’ll see how he is, but apart from that, everyone else will be fine. We’ve got a fully fit squad, virtually, which puts us in a good place.”
On Ricardo Pereira…
“It’s a long season. It’s great to have him back and available after 10 months or so. It’s just about timing, really.”
“He’s going to be an important player for us in the second part of the season, but he’s available and it’s just step by step for him.”
On the Southampton game…
“It was a tough game for us, physically and mentality, but we came through it and got a great result,”
“We’re doing everything we can to recover the players and they’ll be up and ready for the game.”
Frank Lampard
On big moments going against his side…
“I think some of that is circumstance in that we had good games against the top six last year, this year those moments haven’t come for us and when I say that, I mean those games generally against the top teams.”
“Probably Liverpool in game two of the season when we were really feeling our way with the new signings, at 0-0 we had a man sent off and it changed the game. Missed a penalty as well.”
“Man Utd early in the season we were very defensively sound, had a clear penalty that didn’t go our way and it didn’t happen. This is not excuse making by the way but those games against the top teams can be decided by fine margins.”
“When I talked about being a bit young, sometimes we are waiting for players to really hit form and rack up some numbers, in those tight games you need that, you need to get your nose in front.”
“The first 15 minutes against Manchester City, we were the better team but didn’t score and they showed their quality in the 30 minutes after that so I think some teams around us, and ourselves, can we set up and be clinical at the top end?”
“It is a positive we are beating the other teams more regularly but of course to get to where we want to get to we need to beat the teams around the top. We have an opportunity to do that tomorrow.”
FORM:
Leicester City Premier League form: WLWDDW
Leicester City form (all competitions): WDDWWW
Chelsea Premier League form: LWLDLW
Chelsea form (all competitions): WLDLWW
LINEUPS:
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Castagne, Fofana, Evans, Justin; Ndidi, Tielemans; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kante, Kovacic, Mount; Ziyech, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi
SPORTSMOLE PREDICTION:
Leicester City 2-1 Chelsea
Leicester have failed to produce the goods at home on a consistent basis this term, but unlike the visiting party, Rodgers’s men are simply brimming with confidence.
Chelsea’s narrow victory over Fulham was of paramount importance, but with Lampard still struggling to get the best out of his players, we can envisage Leicester coming up trumps in this mouthwatering battle.
Time to take a look at our Leicester City vs Chelsea live match stream as it happens…
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