Chelsea team news vs Leicester and predicted lineup
Chelsea will be looking to win three consecutive games when they host Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday at 2pm.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Leicester
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku; Neto
The Blues have beaten Southampton in the Premier League and FC Copenhagen in the Europa Conference League recently, ending a three-game losing streak. Although they have the second leg against FC Copenhagen next week, Chelsea have to focus on their top four hopes this weekend.
Chelsea go into the weekend fifth, just one point outside the top four. But they’re part of a eight-team group covered by just six points.
Chelsea team news vs Leicester
Wesley Fofana is available for Chelsea, having returned to the bench against Southampton last time out in the league. He isn’t registered for the Europa Conference League, so may be drafted into the starting XI here to allow other centre-backs to rest.
Filip Jorgensen should return in goal, having been made Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper for the Premier League. There was also good news surrounding Malo Gusto, who had to come off in the first half against FC Copenhagen.
Enzo Maresca revealed he can be ready for the visit of Leicester. If he isn’t fit, some Chelsea fans have called for Josh Acheampong to start at right-back.
That would allow Chelsea to rest Reece James, after his midfield exploits. Chelsea are being cautious with their captain, ensuring he can play for the rest of the season, having been plagued by injuries.
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Pedro Neto is also likely to return to the starting XI, leading the line with Christopher Nkunku providing attacking support.
But, Chelsea will still be without Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Romeo Lavia and Marc Guiu, all of whom won’t be back until after the international break.
Is Reece James Chelsea’s new midfielder?
Before his injury struggles, James was considered one of the best right-backs in the Premier League. In the eyes of some, he was the best — a mix of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s attacking abilities and Kyle Walker’s defensive stature.
But that may not be his future, if Maresca gets his way. James started as part of the double pivot for Chelsea in their Europa Conference win over FC Copenhagen, scoring the opening goal just after half-time. It’s not the first time James has played that role for Maresca, also doing so in the Premier League against Aston Villa. In fact, he was also tried in that role during pre-season before suffering an injury.
And midfield is where Maresca sees James.
“So, you can ask Reece; when I signed with Chelsea, probably the day after, I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder,” Maresca said after the win over FC Copenhagen.
“I see Reece as a midfielder, not now – since day one, before I met him for the first time, he was on holiday. I sent him a clip about him and how he can play as a midfielder.
“I imagined Reece playing as a midfielder a long time ago. He is playing there now but the good thing about him is he has already played this year as a full-back, as a centre-back and in the central midfielder. The main target for us is to help him be fit all season.”
Midfield is a role James played for Wigan Athletic while on loan in the Championship in 2018-19, switching through the middle of the campaign to great success. He was named Wigan’s Player of the Year during that time, making 2.13 tackles per 90 minutes and creating 1.68 chances.
In his two games as a midfielder for Chelsea this season, James has threatened to do well. The Englishman has scored one goal, against Copenhagen, from two shots. The hope is that he’ll get forward more from a midfield to take shots, scoring from nothing as he did against Copenhagen. James created one chance across those two games, with 0.11 Expected Assists.
Defensively, James made two tackles, four interceptions and six clearances — ranking second in those matches for interceptions. Of course, those numbers aren’t outstanding, but Chelsea as a whole weren’t at their best in attack across the two matches.
James has had more control though. Across the two games he played in central midfield, James ranks second among Chelsea players for passes attempted (129) and passes completed (123) as well as touches (155). He ranked top for final third passes attempted (31) and completed (29) as well as long passes completed (five) and crosses attempted (five).
