Leicester City v Chelsea preview: Team news, head-to-head, stats and prediction

TEAM NEWS

Jonny Evans could return to Leicester's matchday squad for the first time since November after recovering from calf and thigh injuries.

Harvey Barnes has overcome the ankle problem that prompted his substitution against Southampton last week.

Chelsea's Reece James will be absent because of illness, while injured pair Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are set to miss out.

This weekend will probably come too soon for Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante.

CHRIS SUTTON'S PREDICTION

Leicester have lost their past three league games and also went out of the FA Cup. They are struggling, and their manager Brendan Rodgers is coming under a bit of pressure.

The Foxes actually performed pretty well in their defeat against Southampton last time out but they need a positive result here otherwise the atmosphere at King Power Stadium might start to turn ugly.

I don't see them getting one, though. Chelsea's Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday was huge for their season and I am expecting Graham Potter's side to build on that here.

The Blues don't score many but I worry about Leicester defensively and I think they can get picked apart. I'm going for Chelsea to sneak it, but only just.

Prediction: 0-1

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Leicester's solitary victory in their past six home league games against Chelsea was 2-0 in January 2021 (D2, L3).
• Their most recent competitive win versus Chelsea was in the 2021 FA Cup final at Wembley.
• Chelsea won this season's reverse fixture 2-1 in August and are looking to complete their first league double over Leicester since 2016-17.

Leicester City

• Leicester could suffer five consecutive defeats in all competitions for the first time since a run of six from November to December 2014.
• The Foxes have failed to register a shot on target in their last two league fixtures and they've gone four top-flight matches without scoring for the first time since a run of six from January to February 2017.
• They are the only team not to have kept a Premier League clean sheet since the World Cup.
• Leicester have dropped a league-high 19 points from winning positions this season.
• They have suffered 15 top-flight defeats this season, one shy of their most in a Premier League campaign four years ago.
• Brendan Rodgers has never suffered 16 league defeats or more in a season in his managerial career.
• Rodgers has only beaten Chelsea twice in 21 attempts as a manager in all competitions (D9, L10).
• James Maddison has been directly involved in 21 goals in his last 21 Premier League starts, scoring 13 and setting up eight.

Chelsea

• Chelsea's current 10-match winless away streak in all competitions is their longest since going 17 without victory from April 2000 to January 2001.
• The Blues scored just four goals in those 10 games, their fewest over such a span of away fixtures since August to December 1993.
• Their Premier League fixtures have only produced 49 goals this season, the fewest of any side.
• Raheem Sterling has scored twice in each of his two most recent league appearances against Leicester, including Chelsea's 2-1 win in August. He's never scored away against them in eight appearances.
• Graham Potter's final game as Brighton head coach was a 5-2 Premier League home victory against Leicester in September.

Predict Leicester's starting XI for their next fixture - remember you can change the formation!

Predict Chelsea's starting XI for their next fixture - remember you can change the formation!