Leicester City stand in the way of Chelsea’s last hope of a trophy in Mauricio Pochettino’s first year at the helm.
The Championship leaders will travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, looking to cause an upset and add another disappointment in Chelsea’s campaign. The Blues have one last chance at a trophy this season and will be determined to not let that slip against lower league opposition.
Here’s everything you need to know about the fixture.
Form
Chelsea: DLWDW
After a heartbreaking loss to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final just three weeks ago, the FA Cup is Chelsea’s last hope of silverware this campaign. They’re in the last eight and just one match away from another trip to Wembley, where they will look to right the wrongs of their extra time defeat at the hands of Virgil van Dijk’s late goal.
Chelsea’s form this season has inconsistent to say the least and their cup run hasn’t been much different. In the third round they comfortably put away Championship club Preston, winning the match 4-0.
They drew a much tougher test in the fourth round, having to host an inform Aston Villa. They escaped that match with a goalless draw and took the tie to a return leg at Villa Park, which they won 3-1 after putting in one of their best performances of 2024.
Cole Palmer has been directly involved in 19 goals in his last 19 #PL appearances for Chelsea (11 goals, eight assists). ????
The most ever goal contributions in a #PL season for Chelsea by a player aged 21 or younger. ???? pic.twitter.com/vRxHXddehc
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 12, 2024
In the fifth round they were handed another home tie against a Championship club. However, it was Leeds United that came out firing and took an early lead.
The game looked destined for extra-time, but a stunning 90th-minute winner from Conor Gallagher was enough to earn Chelsea a last-eight date with Leicester.
As for the team news, Chelsea aren’t expected to make many changes to the side that beat Newcastle on Monday, though Ben Chilwell is in contention to feature.
Leicester: LWLWD
The Foxes have had a remarkable year in the Championship, and are marching on towards a return to the Premier League. However, the 2015/16 Premier League champions have wobbled of late, losing three of their last five games.
They still have a four-point margin to third place and manager Enzo Maresca is confident they can get over the line. Now they turn their attention back to a cup run that hasn’t been all that straightforward so far.
Back to the FA Cup action ???? pic.twitter.com/30DrnRT4tc
— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 13, 2024
In the first round they fended off a late comeback from Millwall to win a close contest 3-2. A few weeks later they demolished Birmingham City 3-0 to book their place in the fifth round, which earned them a meeting with Premier League Bournemouth.
The Foxes travelled down to the South cost and returned with a victory after a gruelling 120 minutes of football. The game was goalless until the 105th minute when Abdul Fatawu fired home a strike from distance, leaving his side just one game away from a trip to Wembley.
Leicester are missing Dennis Praet, Kasey McAteer and Ricardo Pereira through injury for Sunday’s match. ‘Keeper Jakub Stolarczyk is expected to continue playing in their cup games.
Previous Meetings
These two sides may currently be in different divisions but their history is long, having met over 120 times. Chelsea have the significant advantage this weekend, given that their squad’s value is over £500m more than Leicester’s, and that has shown throughout history.
The Blues have won 61 of the previous meetings, compared to the Foxes 28. The clubs met twice in the Premier League last season with Chelsea winning both fixtures, contributing to Leicester’s relegation.
However, Leicester’s last win against Chelsea came in the FA Cup. The teams faced off in the 2021 final with a Youri Tielemans goal earning Leicester a 1-0 win and the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Disasi, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo, Gallagher; Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson.
Leicester: Stolarczyk; Choudhury, Vestergaard, Faes, Justin; Winks, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall; Mavididi, Fatawu, Vardy.
Who is the referee?
Andy Madley
Is the game on TV?
UK – BBC One
What time is kick-off?
12:45 GMT, Sunday 17th March
Odds (90mins)
Chelsea – 4/9
Draw – 15/4
Leicester – 6/1
Read More – Mauricio Pochettino explains why Chelsea are ‘completely different’
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