N’Golo Kante is set to face former teammates as Ranieri has decided to drop Mahrez in favour of Ahmed Musa for crunch tie.
Antonio Conte has chosen not to feature captain John Terry in the starting eleven despite the veteran’s return to fitness and has instead gone for what seems like another 3-man defensive formation.
David Luiz and Gary Cahill are two of the three designated natural centre-backs while Azpilicueta is speculated as the third in the 3-man defence as was the case against Hull City. Victor Moses earns another start after an inspired performance against the Tigers while Marcos Alonso is the other wing-back.
Team to face Leicester: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz,
Cahill (c), Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso, Pedro, Diego Costa, Hazard. #CFC— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 15, 2016
Today’s subs: Begovic, Aina, Terry, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi, Solanke. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 15, 2016
The Chelsea players will be wearing black armbands today in honour of Willian’s mother who sadly passed away this week.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 15, 2016
Conte has gone for form as Diego Costa starts over Batshuayi once again while Hazard retains his place. Willian’s absence sees Pedro take the Brazilian’s place in the starting lineup and the former Barcelona man would hope to impress Conte against the Foxes today. The squad will be wearing black armbands to commemorate the demise of Willian’s mother.
What will also intrigue the Chelsea fans is that Conte has named the academy trio of Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek and Solanke on the substitutes bench.
Starting XI: Schmeichel, Hernández, Huth, Morgan (c), Fuchs, Albrighton, Drinkwater, Amartey, Schlupp, Musa, Vardy. #CheLei
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 15, 2016
Subs: Zieler, King, Simpson, Slimani, Gray, Ulloa, Mahrez. #CheLei
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 15, 2016
Ranieri, on the other hand, has delivered what could be considered as a shock move by the Foxes fans with the Italian leaving superstar Riyad Mahrez out of his starting lineup in favour of summer signing Ahmed Musa. Jamie Vardy gets the nod over Islam Slimani despite the Algerian international’s form for the Foxes while Drinkwater slots in at the centre of the midfield alongside Amartey.