Tuesday, December 15, 2015, 7am AEDT, King Power Stadium, watch on Fox Sports
Table position
Leicester City: Top
Chelsea: 14th
Season record
Leicester City: 9-1-5
Chelsea: 4-8-3
Last five match results
Leicester City: WDWWW
Chelsea: LDWLL
WAKE up early on Tuesday morning for a front row seat to the Jamie Vardy show.
And could England’s hottest striker help the remarkable dream come true for a Leicester City ($3.10 with LuxBet.com.au) side that finds itself at the pinnacle of the Premier League with almost half the season done and dusted.
City takes on a Chelsea ($2.30 with LuxBet.com.au) (Draw is $3.30) side that is very un-Chelsea.
If you go on the history, it’s like we’ve stepped in some sort of parallel dimension, where every thing is opposite.
Chelsea is the reigning champion, packed with millions of dollars worth of the top talent in Europe.
They routinely challenge for the title and have fans the world over.
By contrast, Leicester City is the type of team expected to challenge at the other end of the table – for relegation.
They have five fans, a bunch of park footballers, and a dude called Jamie Vardy, who no one had ever heard of until he started scoring more goals than any other man in the Premier League.
We’re being a bit harsh on them, but you get the picture.
Despite all that, the Blues are the ones in a relegation struggle, with every thing going pear shaped since they lifted last seasons Premier League title only a few months ago.
And the battlers from Leicester are the current Premier League kings, ahead of title favourites Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United.
The Foxes have lost just once this season and, in their last 10 outings, they have seven wins and two draws.
It’s a brilliant record that puts them in with a shot at taking the title, obviously with plenty of the season to still be played out.
Chelsea has lost eight games this season, more than it did in the entirety of last campaign and it is just two points outside of the relegation zone.
A loss here could see it spiral into the bottom three, depending on other results.
And, if you think the Leicester boy can do the job and do it well, LuxBet.com.au has a cracking bonus bet on offer.
The bookie will provide a bonus bet of up top $100, matching your stake, if the team you bet on wins by two or more goals.
So you get your winnings, plus a little extra on the side if your team wins comfortably.
The way Leicester has been going, comfort is an understatement.
After a tough 1-1 draw against Manchester United, the Foxes blasted Swansea off their own field thanks to a brilliant hat trick from Riyad Mahrez, who is fast becoming one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
That man Vardy, who had scored in 11 straight games before the Swans clash, couldn’t extend it to a 12th.
But he did break another record, when he managed to assist on a Mahrez goal, taking him past Stan Collymore’s run of 12 consecutive matches with either a goal or an assist.
“Good match, good performance, three goals, many chances and a clean sheet,” super manager Claudio Ranieri said.
“That’s more important than being top.
”Vardy didn’t score, but he played for the team and the team is the leader.
“Great for our fans, who travelled a long way.”
Despite the continued good performances, hat trick hero Mahrez is keeping a lid on things.
He says the club probably can’t win the Premier League – and he’s probably right – but, if history is anything to go by, City will probably end up playing Champions League football, as no side with this many points at this stage of the Premier League season has dropped out of the top four.
And, with only Ritchie De Laet on the sidelines, due to an ankle injury suffered in training, Ranieri has almost a full deck of cards to roll out against Chelsea.
“Everybody is good and fit,” he said.
“We have very good staff.
“Me and the team are the pinnacle of the iceberg but behind us there is very good staff in every direction.
“Fitness coaches, everything.
“A tackle, anything could happen in a training session.
“I think one month he (De Laet) will stop and then he can restart.”
While it was good news for Leicester, Chelsea might have hit rock bottom last week, when it fell at home to Bourenmouth, 1-0.
A Glenn Murray goal in the 82nd minute was the match sealer and, despite a midweek 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions League, Chelsea might have permanently lost its Premier League mojo.
Golden boot winner Diego Costa was left out of the starting line up and golden boy Eden Hazard has not scored for 25 matches in all competitions.
It’s a far cry from the side that simply demolished teams last season as it cruised to the Premier League title.
It might just be time to blow it up and start again.
Possible teams
Leicester City: Kaspar Schmeichel, Danny Simpson, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth, Christian Fuchs, Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater, N’Golo Kanté, Mark Albrighton, Leonardo Ulloa, Jamie Vardy
Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Willian, Oscar, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa
Predictions
Match result: Leicester City wins ($3.10 with LuxBet.com.au)
Correct score: Leicester City wins 3-1 ($21 with LuxBet.com.au)
Total match goals: over 2.5 goals ($1.87 with LuxBet.com.au)
Hey Chelsea fans. Here’s a positive – you’re the favourite in this game. And hey, the last six times the Blues have played Leicester City, they have come out with the win. The last time they played each other at King Power Stadium in April, Didier Drogba, John Terry and Ramires cancelled out Marc Albrighton’s opener to give the Blues a 3-1 win. But that feels like ancient history with the way this side has been playing this season. Lacklustre, no effort, no finishing power, poor ability to hold onto the ball and just a general disinterest from stars like Fabregas, Eden Hazard and company has led to a dismal season that could only get worse with a relegation finish. Imagine if it happened? We have given Chelsea the benefit of the doubt so far this year, but the losing has been so endemic, we just don’t think it is possible for the Blues to head to the home ground of the best team in the Premier League and come away with victory. A draw is their best hope, but the way they have been playing, there is simply no way we can tip them. Expect City to hold onto top spot for at least another week with a commanding win – by at least two goals – fulfilling the bonus bet on offer at LuxBet.com.au.
First goal scorer predictions
Leicester City
Jamie Vardy ($5.25 with LuxBet.com.au)
Pick whatever superlative you like describe this boy’s golden run. Every one was waiting for the bubble to burst as he continued to score in each game he played. The streak made it to 11 and, even though he was due an off game, it didn’t really happen, with his ability to be involved in all three Mahrez goals a feature against Swansea. Vardy leads the Premier League golden boot race with 14 goals and, if he can keep this strike rate up, he could end up with a record. We expect him to continue with his new record of 13 straight games with a goal or an assist with the first goal in this game. When you can make club’s forget about a guy like Leonardo Ulloa, you know you are something special.
Riyad Mahrez ($6.75 with LuxBet.com.au)
How good is this guy? Ten goals in 13 matches, to go with six assists is a strike rate only bettered by his team mate that we just mentioned. The Algerian national scored just four goals and assisted on three last season. What a remarkable turn around it has been as the 24 year old has matured into a creative attacking dynamo, just as adept at setting up a team mate as he is at blasting the ball into the net. Watch for his searching runs at the defence with ball at foot. If he gets even half a chance, expect him to make the most of it.
Chelsea
Loic Remy ($6.50 with LuxBet.com.au)
Who would have thought it would be difficult to find a first goal scorer tip for Chelsea, but it’s just hard to even see them scoring the way they have been going. With Costa horribly out of form and out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho, we have gone with Remy, who should get an extended run as the club’s starting striker. The Frenchman has played just 107 minutes this season, but that should change and we expect him to get plenty of opportunities, starting with Leicester. He has the talent, as he showed at Newcastle, but has been starved of opportunity. If he does get the blessing of Mourinho, he will want to make the most of it and what better way to do that than to fire in the first goal of this game.
His mate Hazard can’t hit the back side of a barn, so maybe the uber talented, but often lazy Oscar can get on the sheet for Chelsea in this one. The 24 year old attacking midfielder, like just about every other Chelsea player, has been under performing. But he has also been over looked a lot, with only seven matches to his name this season. In those seven, he has scored just once. It’s not exactly compelling evidence to back him in to score the first goal, but there are not really many other guys putting their hands up and saying “pick me, pick me”.
