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Chelsea vs Leicester City Preview: 3 things on the cards according to the stats

Leicester City aim to earn their first victory of the season when they travel to London to take on Chelsea in the English Premier League. Both teams had a poor start to the season and will be looking for some improvement in this match.

Chelsea suffered a shock 0-3 defeat against Leeds United in the last match. They were unable to break the defence and finished the match with ten men. Thomas Tuchel’s men have failed to win their last two matches. The Blues have scored three goals# with an average xG rate of 1.6 and conceded five goals in return.

Leicester City suffered back-to-back defeats after going down 1-2 against Southampton in the last round. The Foxes have registered only a single point this season. They have scored five goals with a very low average xG rate of 0.48 and conceded eight goals in return.

Let us look at some of the stats that will show what we can expect from this important fixture.

Chelsea’s attacking zones

Premier League Preview: Chelsea vs Leicester City

This season, Chelsea have depended on their wing-backs to generate opportunities. The Blues average 37.67 positional attacks per match and attempt eight shots from these positional attacks. They also average 14 shots per game with a 28.6% shot accuracy rate. The Blues will be a threat from the flanks, and they will constantly try to find a teammate inside the penalty box. The above viz shows the shot map against Spurs, in which Chelsea managed 16 shots, with three on target. It can be observed that most of the chances were attempted from dangerous areas inside the penalty box.

The defensive battle

Premier League Preview: Chelsea vs Leicester City

Both teams have a duel win percentage of around 50% and have won more than 60% of their defensive duels. Chelsea have a much better defence as they have won 63% of their defensive duels and 55.4% of their aerial duels. The above viz shows that the Blues have won most of their defensive duels on the flanks. Leicester City wingers will find it hard to get past the defence.

Premier League Preview: Chelsea vs Leicester City

Leicester City have won 60% of their defensive duels and 43% of their aerial duels. The above viz shows that the Foxes have won most of the duels in the middle third and have struggled a bit in the attacking third. They contest most of the duels high up on the pitch to stop the ball from reaching the penalty box.

Leicester’s attacking zones

Premier League Preview: Chelsea vs Leicester City

Leicester City average 28.7 positional attacks per match and have created most of the chances from the centre, as shown in the above viz. Harvey Barnes’ return means that they will also create some chances from the left side. One of the issues with Leicester City is that they only average 7.7 shots per game and their strikers have failed to score any goals. The manager will make some changes in the approach and try to involve the strikers in the game.

Team news

Chelsea will be without Kalidou Koulibaly for this match. The defender will serve a one-match suspension for his two yellow cards in the last two games. This means that Marc Cucurella could slot into the left centre-back role and Ben Chilwell could feature as the left wing-back.

Leicester City will once again be without Wesley Fofana. The defender is out injured, and Brendan Rodgers might introduce Caglar Soyuncu to the starting XI. Youri Tielemans started on the bench in the last game, and he would be eager to start this match.

Chelsea look like the clear favourites to win this match against a struggling Leicester side. The Foxes have failed to threaten the opposition goalkeeper, and Chelsea’s defence won’t allow them to take easy chances. It is a must-win game for both teams.

Visuals via Wyscout