Last season champions visit last season's great escapees however this year their roles have ironically been reversed. With Leicester currently sat joint top of the Premier League after 15 games, their fans will be confident of getting a result against a nervous Chelsea side who sit 15th, just two points above the relegation zone. Leicester head into this game unbeaten in their previous 8 premier league games (W5, D3) whereas their opponents have only 3 wins in their last 10 league games however, Chelsea should be high on confidence following their qualification for the Knockout stages in the Champions League. A lack of goals has been Chelsea's downfall this season as well as a lack of discipline defensively and with Leicester being a very strong counter attacking side as well as being very clinical, Mourinho will need his side to reach the levels of performance they achieved last season if they're to get anything from this game. The home side have the better record in this fixture with Leicester having 40% win percentage to Chelsea's 23% win percentage and have scored 9 more. With the form of the teams right now, you'd think that this is a perfect opportunity for Leicester to extend their great home record against the current champions.
Table topping Leicester have shocked the footballing world this season by their incredible transition from a side battling for relegation to a side that looks like they could challenge for the title. With Ranieri in charge and no ego's dominating the dressing room, the unity of this level-headed squad has been incredible and they really look like a force to be reckoned with. With everyone contributing so much to this teams success, it's hard to pick players in particular to look out for but Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have been critical to this club's success. After Vardy's incredible run of scoring in 11 consecutive games came to an end away at Swansea last weekend, he will be hungry to start scoring again. Mahrez has been just as fundamental to the success of the club as he has contributed 16 goals (10goals, 6assists) already this season. The tricky midfielder will be a nightmare for Chelsea's defence throughout the game. These two players have scored 7 more goals combined than the visitor's have as a team this season. This time last season the hosts were sat bottom of the league with relegation looking the only possible outcome, a year on and 22points better off, winning the title and qualifying for Europe are just a few of the possibilities for this much improved side. With only Ritchie De Laet and Matty James confirmed as unavailable for this game, Leicester will have plenty of options to deal with whatever Mourinho throws at them.
From champions last year to flops this year, Chelsea fans could have never predicted to see their side perform as poorly as they have throughout this Premier League campaign. Even when dominating games, they lack the cutting edge needed to finish off games and they are paying the price. A perfect example of this occurred last weekend when they dominated Bournemouth for the majority of the game yet failed to create many clear cut chances and were punished as when Bournemouth's chance for a goal arrived, they took it. You know there is a problem when the sides in the league with lesser quality players can cause more threat to the opposition's defence and score more than last years champions. Despite playing better in the Champions League, the visitors have so far failed to replicate this form in the Premier League and have only managed to pick up 4 wins out of a possible 15. Last season Chelsea were dominating the league, playing brilliant football and beating everyone. This year they find themselves 21 points off where they were last season and already 14 points off the top four. If they are going to get anything from this game, Mourinho will need his big players to finally step up their game and perform like they did last season because time is running out for them to turn around this horrendous season. With Gary Cahill and Radamel Falcao the only doubts for this game, Mourinho basically has a fully strengthed squad to throw at Leicester. If Chelsea are victorious Monday night, I believe that this will be the turning point in their season, however, if they are beaten then confidence could be at an all time low.
For me personally, there is only one outcome to this game and that is a Leicester City win. The teamwork and unity from the home side will help them massively in beating their visitors. Chelsea are likely to have more possession however when Leicester retain possession, expect the link-up play from Kante, Mahrez and Vardy to easily break down Chelsea's out of form defence and on the counter, the pace from many of the hosts' players will be too much for the visitors to handle.
Woody Predicts : Leicester City 3-1 Chelsea
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