Chelsea Vs. Leicester City Prediction: The Blues Want To Maintain Positive Momentum

JAKARTA - Chelsea are determined to maintain their positive momentum at home to Leicester City who are struggling to avoid relegation at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 9 March. This match will be a reunion event for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, with her former club Leicester. He left the club last summer to join the Blues. Maresca has beaten Leicester this season with a 2-1 win in their first meeting in November.

After competing in the title race at the end of 2024 and almost climbing to the top of the standings in mid-December, Chelsea's Premier League struggle, suddenly experienced a drastic decline.

They had five wins in a row, but the draw against Everton was the start of a streak of bad results. In the last 11 league games, Chelsea only won three wins and lost five.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for the Blues as the three wins were won in their last three home games. Cloe palmer cs. scored nine goals in the win against Wolves, West Ham, and Southampton. If they win again this time, Maresca will record four consecutive home wins for the first time since dealing with Chelsea.

In the hunt for Champions League tickets, the victory over Leicester is crucial. When the England team's performance in the European competition is impressive, it is likely that the top five of the final standings will get tickets to the Champions League next season. Currently, Chelsea is in fifth place, but only six points away from third to tenth place, which makes competition even tighter.

In addition, Chelsea performed well in the European event with a 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen in the first leg of the last 16 of the European Conference League. After a 4-0 win over Southampton last week, they had a great chance of recording three consecutive wins in all competitions.

Head-to-head Chelsea also have a good record against Leicester, with six wins in their last seven meetings. Despite losing to Ipswich Town in December, it is unlikely that Chelsea will lose to promoted teams twice in one season for the first time in 12 years.

While Chelsea are struggling to stay in the hunt for the Champions League, Leicester are slumping in the relegation zone. They have won only one of the last 11 games at Stamford Bridge, and their current condition is much worse than previous visits to West London.

The 0-4 defeat to Brentford two weeks ago saw Leicester set a record for being the first team in Premier League history to lose six consecutive times at home without scoring a single goal in a season. After that, they lost 0-2 to West Ham again, which further exacerbated their situation.

If they lose again by a two-goal difference, Leicester will record five consecutive defeats with the margin for the first time in 95 years. This will bring them closer to the brink of relegation.

Despite the great pressure on Ruud van Nistelrooy's coach, management seems to still give him a chance to improve the situation. However, with opponents like Chelsea, there's not much to expect from the Foxes unless they can come as a surprise.

The advantage for Leicester is that competing teams in the relegation zone also lost the previous week, so they are still five points behind the safe zone despite only collecting 17 points so far this season.

In this match, Chelsea will lose several key players, including Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, and Marc Guiu who are expected to return after the international break. Meanwhile, midfielder Romeo Lavia has returned to training and can return soon.

In a win over FC Copenhagen in the European Conference League, Chelsea fielded a fairly strong squad, including Cole Palmer who made his European debut. However, Palmer has now played eight games without scoring a goal and will try to end his goal drought in this match.

One of the surprises in the match against Copenhagen was the use of Reece James as a midfielder. James impressed and scored the opener in the win. With his slick performance in that position, Maresca will probably return to try this experiment, especially as Malo Gusto has been declared fit and ready to play at right-back.

Leicester received good news with Woyo Coulibaly's recovery, which is now ready to be played. Thus, Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu became the only Leicester players who were absent due to injury.

Leicester proponents have long askedpany Mavidi to be given more playing opportunities, and this match could be a moment for him to finally get into the starting XI after the last six games have only played as substitutes.

In the back, the rotation of the centre-back is still a problem. In the previous match, Jannik Vestergaard was again played to replace Caleb Okoli, but after another defeat, Okoli had the opportunity to return to the starting lineup.

Chelsea have had a strong home record lately and have been dominant at Stamford Bridge in recent matches. With the attack line sharp again, the Blues have a great chance of winning their fourth straight win at home.

Meanwhile, Leicester continues to show poor performance, especially in defense. If they don't find a solution immediately, it's not impossible that Chelsea will score a win with a big margin.

Chelsea (3-4-3):Jorgensen; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; James, Enzo, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Nkunku

Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Soumare; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy

Score prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Leicester City