Will Chelsea finish the season as the best London team?
Thomas Tuchel heads into the penultimate home game of the season after a whirlwind season. Following the news surrounding Roman Abramowitch and the sale of the club in the wake of the Ukraine war, sporting success has been somewhat lost of late. Only two of the last six league games were won.
In addition, there was the missed penalty shoot-out in the FA Cup final against Liverpool. Nevertheless, third place in the table is as good as secure and with it qualification for the Champions League next season.
Leicester, on the other hand, are missing their own targets this year and are finishing in mid-table this season. Moreover, the Foxes are not too fond of travelling to Stamford Bridge, where they have won just one game from their last nine. Moreover, Vardy & Co. never scored more than one goal in those games. The bookmakers are clearly putting the odds on Chelsea vs. Leicester in favour of a home win for the Blues.
Chelsea – Statistics & current form
The Blues have not managed two wins in a season against Leicester since the 16/17 season. In the upcoming home match, this series could finally be broken for the Tuchel eleven. Back then, Chelsea still won the English championship under Antonio Conte. Even if the competition at the top of the table can no longer be caught up, everyone wants to play the last two home games of the season successfully.
Lately Stanford Bridge has not been a fortress
The club is facing a bit of a shake-up. Especially in the defence there are some candidates for change. In addition to Rüdiger, who will leave the club for Spain, Azpilicueta and Christensen are also on the verge of leaving.
Especially their own defence has not been able to perform as well as it used to. Only one of the last four home games was won. In addition, goalkeeper Mendy conceded ten goals in this period. Exactly as many as in 13 home games before. Now, in the season finale, they have to find their way back to their old stability. Nevertheless, the predictions for Chelsea vs. Leicester are pretty even for a goal for the visitors.
Lukaku & Mount are emblematic of the season
Before the season, they invested a three-figure million sum to acquire the services of Belgian striker Lukaku. The result after his return to Stamford Bridge, however, is more than meagre. Eight goals in 25 appearances are clearly too few. Nevertheless, the striker could now score a goal for the first time in three Premier League games in a row since 2017.
In contrast, homegrown Mason Mount has become Tuchel’s absolute top performer. The 23-year-old is not only the Blues’ top scorer with 11 goals this season, but could also become the first Englishman since Harry Kane and Alan Shearer to contribute at least one goal and one assist in seven different league games. He currently has six, which is already an internal club record. If Mount is able to score again, the odds on tip 1 for Chelsea vs. Leicester will be interesting after all.
Predicted Chelsea line-up:
Mendy – Rüdiger, Silva, Azpilicueta – Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, James – Mount – Havertz, Lukaku
Last matches played by Chelsea:
FA Cup
14/05/2022 – Chelsea FC (5)0 – 0(6) Liverpool FC
Premier League
12/05/2022 – Leeds 0 – 3 Chelsea FC
07/05/2022 – Chelsea FC 2 – 2 Wolverhampton
01/05/2022 – Everton 1 – 0 Chelsea FC
29/04/2022 – Manchester United 1 – 1 Chelsea FC
Leicester – Statistics & current form
As mentioned in the introduction, Leicester have only managed to win one of their last nine meetings at Stamford Bridge, never scoring more than one goal. In addition, the Foxes have not won any of their last 13 away games, the last time being in the 96/97 season at Blackburn. The last five were all lost. Curiously, Leicester also played their last away game at Chelsea last season and lost 2-1.
But it is not only at the Blues that the Foxes are struggling. In general, Brendan Rodgers’ team usually returned empty-handed from the English capital. Five of the last seven encounters in London were lost. A draw at Crystal Palace and a narrow win at Brentford were the highest of the highs.
The offense wakes up too late
Vardy & Co. scored eight goals in the last 180 minutes. 5:1 at Watford and 3:0 against Norwich are strong results, even if they were scored against the two sure relegation candidates. If they manage to score at least three goals again, it would be only the third time in the club’s history that they have scored at least three in a row. Unfortunately, this offensive resurgence is coming a little late. In the seven appearances before the last two, only seven goals were scored.
Jamie Vardy on fire
Jamie Vardy could still set a record this season. With two more goals within the last two games, he would become the first player in Premier League history to score 100 goals after the age of 30. He scored a brace in each of the last two games. In the Chelsea vs. Leicester duel, the odds do not give a clear tendency in the direction of many or fewer goals.
Predicted Leicester line-up:
Ward – Justin, Evans, Fofana, Castagne – Mendy – Barnes, Dresbury-Hall, Tielemans, Maddison – Vardy
Last matches played by Leicester:
Premier League
15/05/2022 – Watford 1 – 5 Leicester
12/05/2022 – Leicester 3 – 0 Norwich
08/05/2022 – Leicester 1 – 2 Everton
European Conference League Final Stage
06/05/2022 – AS Roma 1 – 0 Leicester
Premier League
01/05/2022 – Tottenham 3 – 1 Leicester
Chelsea – Leicester Direct comparison / H2H record
A total of 31 encounters took place between the Blues and the Foxes. Chelsea won 16 of them, more than half. Only six times could Leicester take three points. Although the Foxes have usually lost out to Chelsea, they have managed to score in each of their last three appearances at Stamford Bridge, and if they do so again it will be the first time since 1968.
Chelsea – Leicester Tip
Even though the Blues have already secured qualification for the Champions League due to Arsenal’s defeat at Newcastle, they will be desperate to win their last two home games of the season. If they stay in third place, they would still be the best team from England’s capital.
For Leicester, too, there is not much at stake in terms of the standings. With three points they could at least overtake Wolves and would be in eighth place after 37 games. Unfortunately, they have no chance of reaching seventh place. Nevertheless, the Foxes want to keep their mini-series of two wins in a row going.
In the penultimate game for both teams, it is simply a matter of achieving the best possible finish and saying goodbye to their own fans. In the three-way market, a tip on Chelsea vs Leicester is offered with a low value on the hosts. Accordingly, we rather speculate on a game with many goals. 6 Units on both teams scoring
