The Foxes take on league leaders Chelsea this weekend, we've got a preview of the clash; team news, match facts, predicted XI and where to watch the big game.
What time and where?
Kick off is 12:30 at the King Power Stadium, Leicester.
Where can I watch the big game?
The match is being broadcast live on BT Sport 1.
Rodgers issues rallying call ahead of tough winter schedule
Brendan Rodgers has asked for the Foxes to show a “relentless mentality” in the face of a touch winter schedule, which begins this Saturday at home against Chelsea.
Rodgers is excited by the games ahead, calling out the many points available in the Premier League and a possible place in the Carabao Cup Semi-Finals as the prize. He wants to see the players rise to the occasion and make the necessary sacrifices in training.
"They’re all big games and our focus is purely on the next one, for a club like ourselves to be challenging shows the effort this group of players has made.”
"They’re obviously really important games over this next number of months, but my focus is on the next game. The next period is relentless, in the terms of games, but you must be relentless in terms of your mentality. That’s what is key. You must work hard, it’ll be tough, but the rewards can be there.”
"We’ve got to sacrifice, we’ve got to recover well, we’ve got to prepare well. We’ve got to give everything into the games. There’s so many games and some of them are tight, especially around that Christmas period, but it’s having that relentless mentality. That focus. It’s what you do on the training field and how you recover off it which prepares you for the games.“
At home to league leaders Chelsea
Chelsea have been the most consistent team in the Premier League under Thomas Tuchel. They top the table after winning eight of their opening 11 fixtures this season. The Foxes however, had the upper hand over the The Blues in the FA Cup last season and Rodgers is expecting another tough & tight game at the King Power stadium.
"They’ve got an outstanding manager, they’ve got an incredible squad of players, but now they have the confidence of winning a big title. They’ve got real, real talents. They can bring players out and put more players in.”
"It doesn’t make any difference, their level is really high, both from a technical and tactical perspective. For us, every time we’ve played them recently, it’s been a big challenge. The FA Cup was a special day for us. We had to work. Whenever you play the big teams, you must be at the top of your game.”
Team News ahead of the weekend
Jonny Evans came through a tough game against European Championship winners Italy. The Northern Ireland international was a rock in the 0-0 performance that prevented the Italians securing automatic qualification for the World Cup in Qatar.
A foot injury at the start of the season has prevented game time for The Foxes experienced centre-back. But if he can remain fit, Rodgers will be calling on his wealth of experience over the tough winter schedule.
"He’s a top-class player who’s at the peak of his game. When he’s fit and healthy, he’s one of the best centre-halves in Europe. He’s a huge player for us. He’s a winner. Having him available is absolutely massive for us.”
"If we can give him that recovery time, hopefully he gets that bit of luck with injuries."
Youri Tielemans didn’t travel with the Belgium squad for their round of World Cup qualifiers due to the calf injury he picked up against Leeds United. Rodgers didn’t dwell too long on Tielemans’ injury but said he’d be back before Christmas.
“We obviously had the issue with Youri [Tielemans] before he left, so that puts him out for a few weeks. He’ll be back before Christmas.”
Tielemans will be a huge miss this weekend, the midfield man has played in 67 consecutive Premier League matches for The Foxes.
Rodgers also gave an update James Justin and Wesley Fofana. With some glowing praise for Fofana in particular, both players will be looking to play their way back into The Foxes starting XI over the winter period.
"Wesley, for me, is one of the top centre-halves in the world. He’s 20 years of age, but you can see the impact he’s made already in the Premier League. Having a player like that will of course take your team to another level. Having those two boys back will be huge for us."
Full Injury List Fofana (ankle), Justin (knee), Albrighton (leg), Bertrand ((knee), Tielemans (calf)
Predicted Foxes line-up (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ricardo, Soyuncu, Evans, Castagne; Ndidi, Soumare, Maddison; Lookman, Vardy, Barnes.
Match Facts for the big game
- Leicester City are unbeaten in their past three home Premier League matches against Chelsea (won one, drawn two), last having a longer unbeaten run on home soil against the Blues in the top flight between February 1985 and May 1995 at Filbert Street (four draws).
- In all competitions, Leicester have won two matches against Chelsea in 2021, winning in the Premier League in January and the FA Cup final in May. In the last 10 years, only one team has beaten the Blues three times in a single calendar year (Manchester United in 2019).
- A win against Chelsea would be our 200th Premier League victory!
- Jamie Vardy needs two ore goals to equal Ian Wright’s Premier League record of 93 goals after turning 30
Head to Head
The Foxes record in the Premier League against Chelsea reads: P30 W6 D9 L15
Prediction
A tough match ahead for The Foxes, but the visitors Chelsea will be without their talisman striker Romelu Lukaku. We've got ours in Jamie Vardy, he'll be looking to chase down Ian Wright's Premier League goal record for the over 30's! We're hoping for that 200th Premier League victory, but we may be made to wait until next weeks home game against Watford.
Score: 1-1
