Chelsea visit Leicester: Time, team news, all you need to know
Chelsea and Leicester City are set to do battle on Tuesday night in the Third Round of the EFL Cup. Here is all you need to know ahead of the first whistle.
Midweek football! Woo yeah. Leicester City fans are getting used to this given their Champions League involvement, but this is a treat for Chelsea fans. The two teams face off on Tuesday evening under the lights as the EFL Cup rolls on.
Leicester City v Chelsea, 20th September 2016
King Power Stadium, EFL Cup Third Round
Time: 19:45 BST, 14:45 ET
TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK), beIN Sports (US), find your local TV station here
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Team News
On the injury front, Antonio Conte once again has a plethora of players to choose from. Chelsea have been relatively lucky with regard to hurt players thus far, a trend the boss would like to continue.
John Terry is the only player categorically ruled out of the fixture, as the defender slowly returns from the ankle injury he picked up against Swansea City.
The speculation will surround Conte’s voluntary changes to the starting eleven. The EFL Cup is traditionally a competition in which the big club rest key players. However, the lack of European football and a messy start to their league campaign mean that the Blues may take this seriously. This is probably the only piece of silverware Chelsea can genuinely win.
Should Conte think otherwise, a few youngsters might see some minutes. Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are probably the two most likely to start. Victor Moses, meanwhile, may feel that he has a chance after some impressive cameos from the bench.
The fans, though, will be eager to see Michy Batshuayi get the nod. The Belgian has been Chelsea’s most exciting player so far. Whether Conte switches to a two-man strikeforce to accommodate Diego Costa as well is another wrinkle to the pre-match anticipation.
At the back Marcos Alonso could be in line for his Chelsea debut. Branislav Ivanovic was awful against Liverpool and will represent the sacrificial lamb should Conte opt to trust his new signing. It will then be up to the Spaniard to prove that he is the man for the job.
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The Opposition
Leicester have made a mixed start in their quest to defend the Premier League. Matters have picked up over the last week, though, with two consecutive 3-0 wins reminding everyone that they still have quality about them.
However, Claudio Ranieri has already stated that he will rest some players given the amount of fixtures they have to play this season. With that, key talents such as Riyad Mahrez and Wes Morgan may sit out.
Having said that, the strength of Leicester’s squad should not be underestimated. The likes of Ahmed Musa, Shinji Okazaki and Ezequiel Gray were on the bench during Saturday’s Burnley win.
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