Chelsea vs. Leicester City - Preview , available players,prediction, missing players,team news, lineups, kick - off time
When Leicester City visits Stamford Bridge on Thursday, Chelsea will be looking to secure a third-place finish in the Premier League.
The Blues were knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool last weekend, while Brendan Rodgers' side thrashed Watford 5-1 at Vicarage Road.
The third time was not the charm for Chelsea at Wembley, as the Blues fell short in the showpiece event after losing to Arsenal in the 2020 FA Cup final and their upcoming opponents Leicester last year.
Three months after losing to Liverpool in a penalty shootout in the EFL Cup final, Chelsea and the Reds did not bring their best shooting boots to Wembley for the FA Cup final, which Cesar Azpilicueta and Mason Mount won.
Chelsea has been rocked by allegations of Andreas Christensen refusing to play in the FA Cup final and disappearing from the team hotel on the morning of the game, and he may have donned the blue jersey for the final time before departing in the summer.
Both Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi are still out, while Timo Werner is out with a hamstring injury, and Klopp is concerned about Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic, whose ankle has swollen again.
After a bright cameo at Wembley, N'Golo Kante's return to fitness could see the Frenchman return to the engine room, while Cesar Azpilicueta and Hakim Ziyech's fresh legs could come in handy after two hours of action in the capital.
Meanwhile, Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was surprisingly benched in the win over Watford in favor of Danny Ward, but the Danish stopper is expected to return to the starting lineup against Chelsea.
Nampalys Mendy was taken off early in that game due to illness, so he could be spared here, while Wilfred Ndidi, Ryan Bertrand, and Ricardo Pereira remain out, as does Hamza Choudhury, who has a knock.
Marc Albrighton and Ademola Lookman are both ready to replace the injured Mendy in a slight change of shape for the visitors, who should otherwise stick to their winning formula from Vicarage Road.
Chelsea stormed to a 3-0 win over Leicester at the King Power earlier this season, but their most recent league double over the Foxes came all the way back in 2016-17, and morale in the Blues camp will not be at an all-time high in the wake of further reports concerning the club's future, or lack thereof.
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