Chelsea will face Leicester City once again on Tuesday night, just days after losing the FA Cup final to the Foxes. The Blues fell to a lone goal by Youri Tielemans, resulting in consecutive FA Cup final losses.
A lot is riding on the mid-week clash that will take place on Stamford Bridge. Leicester and Chelsea are third and fourth on the Premier League table, with the Foxes two points ahead of the Blues. Liverpool are hot on the tails of the two sides, which makes the fixture a must-win game for both teams.
In the reverse fixture in January, Leicester City won 2-0 against Chelsea with goals from Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison. The game against Leicester will be Thomas Tuchel’s biggest test so far as his side has lost back-to-back games for the first time since he took charge of the side.
Chelsea Team News
Thomas Tuchel had declared ahead of the FA Cup final that midfielder Mateo Kovacic was available for selection, but the Croatian didn’t feature in Saturday’s game. Kovacic is back in training, and could be available for the Blues for Tuesday night’s fixture. Defender Andreas Christensen is the only doubt for the London club.
No time to dwell. We'll be ready for Leicester tomorrow.#MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/eGL77Tto3Z
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 17, 2021
Let’s take a look at the possible Chelsea lineup for the game against Leicester City:
Predicted Chelsea Lineup vs Leicester City
Goalkeeper
Edouard Mendy should return to the Chelsea lineup and replace Kepa for the game against Leicester City. Mendy was on the bench for the FA Cup final as Tuchel persisted with Kepa for the FA Cup.
Defence
Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Reece James played at the back, along with Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso in the FA Cup final. Silva could make way for Kurt Zouma, while Ben Chilwell could come in for Alonso for Tuesday’s game. Callum Hudson-Odoi could be an option in the right wing-back role for the Blues.
Midfield
We could see Mateo Kovacic return to the Chelsea lineup against Leicester City and the former Real Madrid midfielder should replace Jorginho. Kovacic will most likely be joined by N’Golo Kante in the middle of the park. Billy Gilmour is another option for Tuchel in midfield.
Attack
Timo Werner put in a sub-par performance against Leicester City in the FA Cup final and he could be replaced by compatriot Kai Havertz in attack. Christian Pulisic could replace Hakim Ziyech, while Mason Mount could retain his place in the Chelsea lineup. Tammy Abraham, who was left out of the FA Cup final squad, could be an option off the bench.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup vs Leicester City