CHELSEA will be hoping to avenge their FA Cup final defeat to Leicester this evening when the two sides face off at Stamford Bridge tonight.
The Blues and the Foxes are both still gunning for the Champions League places but have Liverpool breathing down their necks… so both sides need to pull out a win.
- Start time: 8.15pm GMT
- TV/Live stream: Sky Sports PL/Main Event
- Chelsea XI: Mendy, James, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Mount, Werner, Pulisic
- Leicester XI: Schmeichel, Castagne, Fofana, Soyuncu, Albrighton, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas, Maddison, Perez, Vardy
Follow ALL the action with our live blog below…
- Kostas Lianos
STATS
Chelsea dominated 64.7 per cent of possession in the first half, mainly thanks to N'Golo Kante's performance.
The Blues registered a total of 11 shots, but only three of them were on target.
Leicester, on the other hand, only managed one shot, which was not on target.
The Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has already made three saves whereas his counterpart Edouard Mendy has enjoyed a smooth ride so far
- Kostas Lianos
HT: CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
Chelsea and Leicester are goalless despite an eventful first half.
The Blues had two goals disallowed, and both of them were scored by Timo Werner.
Werner was done for offside by the linesman when N'Golo Kante set him up inside the box and the star striker beat Kasper Schmeichel.
The Germany international was then found to have handled the ball by VAR when he picked up a corner delivery from the left side and sent it over Schmeichel's line.
Thomas Tuchel's men protested for a penalty on Werner, who was quite the centre of attention in the first 45 minutes, when Youri Tielemans grounded him by kicking the back of his foot inside the box only for referee Mike Dean to award a foul for the Foxes.
The west Londoners got unlucky as Kante, who was a constant threat for his former team, picked up an injury and was replaced by the returning Mateo Kovacic
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PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
AND THAT'S HALF-TIME IN LONDON!!!!!!!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
45 Two more minutes of stoppage time to go.
And Chelsea will have to find a way to fill in for Kante's absence!
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CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
43 CHANCE!
Chelsea come so close!
Mount nutmegs Soyuncu and cuts the ball back to Pulisic who just misses the target from a difficult spot!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
43 Chelsea thought they opened the scoring again with Werner but were denied once more.
They do say third time's the charm…
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CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
41 Chelsea have adopted quite a defensive stance ever since losing Kante.
That is something manager Tuchel will have to work on during his half-time talk
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
38 Leicester are slowly picking up the tempo and pushing forward.
Chelsea are really missing Kante already and are quite frustrated with the two disallowed goals from Werner
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
35 NO GOAL!
Werner picks up a corner-kick from the left and appears to be heading the ball over Schmeichel's goal line.
Referee Dean checks his goal line watch and it's over.
However, VAR shows that Werner handled the ball before sending it to the back of the net
- Kostas Lianos
GOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!
CHELSEA SCORE WITH WERNER, VAR ARE CHECKING!!!!!!!!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
33 SUBSTITUTION
Terrible news for Chelsea!
Kante can't continue after picking up a knock and is replaced by Kovacic, who makes a return from a hamstring injury.
The France international has been brilliant on the pitch, which means this is a great development for his former club Leicester
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
32 YELLOW CARD
Here's the first booking of the match as Perez brings Chilwell down with a challenge from behind!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
30 Chelsea boss Tuchel is preparing Kovacic for the game, it seems…
There seems to be a probable injury issue with Kante in midfield.
Remember, Kovacic has been out with a hamstring injury of his own
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
29 CHANCE!
The ball drops to Mount inside the box and the forward makes a lovely move, which allows him to get a powerful shot.
It's good and forces a finger-tip save from Schmeichel
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
28 Chelsea thought they were ahead when Kante set Werner up inside the box.
The striker beat Schmeichel but was caught offside by the linesman
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- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
25 Here's what happened earlier.
Werner went down inside Leicester's box after Tielemans kicked the back of his foot.
But referee Dean awarded a foul for the Foxes
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
24 Mount flirts with a yellow card there as he pushes Tielemans to the ground from behind.
Very risky from the Chelsea ace who gets a lucky escape from Dean
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
22 NO GOAL FOR CHELSEA
Kante, who has been a constant problem and danger in Leicester's midfield and defence, moves the ball again with ease forward and finds Werner.
The Germany international finds the back of the net but is caught offside
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
19 PENALTY SHOUT
Werner goes down inside Leicester's box after Tielemans kicks the back of his foot.
Referee Mike Dean has, strangely enough, awarded a foul for Leicester.
VAR doesn't intervene and it's play-on!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
18 Chelsea's gameplan is basically: Speed, speed and more speed!
The hosts aren't wasting a single second when they pick up a foul or throw-in.
It's all about staying on top of Leicester!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
15 There's some great connection between Chelsea's midfield and frontline.
Kante is doing a great job moving and passing the ball forward to Mount, Pulisic as well as Werner.
Leicester need to find a way to shut that combination down
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
13 Leicester are struggling to get some passing rhythm together.
Chelsea are doing a great job closing down the visitors and it's obvious that Tuchel wants to restrict any counter-attacks from arguably the best counter-attacking team in the Premier League.
That's what he did in the FA Cup Final after all…
Nothing much he could have done with that Tielemans stunner!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
10 The fans' presence and chants from the stands are no longer causing nerves for those two teams, especially Chelsea.
Both sides seemed a little off with supporters in the stands during the FA Cup Final as they got used to silent games throughout the entire season.
Last weekend's game lacked tempo but there is a lot of it tonight!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
9 CHANCE!
Chelsea are seriously knocking on Leicester's door!
Kante gets inside the box and fires a shot that forces a lunge from Schmeichel.
The ball goes back to Pulisic who just misses the crossbar after picking up a deflection!
- Kostas Lianos
CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER
8 Here's a little reminder why Chelsea may be feeling a little more confident than Leicester.
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