Leicester City

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

To change horses midstream means to make changes to an activity that has already started.

Finally, after weeks of screaming for it, that is exactly what Leicester got at Chelsea on Sunday.

Going into the match, I felt we might get something from a Chelsea side that were not in the best of form and whose fans were voicing public apathy towards their manager's style of play. That is something we well remember from Enzo Maresca's time last year, albeit were 17 points clear at the top and that silences a lot of criticism.

However, the shock was almost audible when the team was announced and we no longer saw the 4-2-3-1 formation that had been failing us every week under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

He had changed to a 5-2-1-2, with the back five reverting to a back three going forward and deployed wing-backs. This change, it appeared, frustrated Maresca.

We saw Jordan Ayew and Bobby DeCordova-Reid dropped, neither of whom should be starters. Luke Thomas and Conor Coady were back in defence, with the latter offering experience and leadership. And yes, two up front.

We did not win but, if the team performance against West Ham was a -10 out of 10, this was a solid seven. With rumours Van Nistelrooy had been considering this formation since he arrived, the question is why wait until now when we face our hardest run of games of the season?

Up front, with two starting, the hope was we would break our goalless run, but it does not matter if we have five up front if we are not getting the ball to them. With only four touches in the first half for Jamie Vardy, this is a problem that needs attention.

Too little, too late? Time will tell, but let us enjoy the fact that this was probably our best performance against a top-half team.

Find more from Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die, external

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Ruud van Nistelrooy's switch to a back five saw his Leicester team perform "much better" defensively but they still "lacked cutting edge" in Sunday's defeat by Chelsea, says BBC Sport football news reporter Nizaar Kinsella.

"It was interesting, I was a bit surprised they went to a back five," he told BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast.

"I think they maybe caught Chelsea out a bit. They looked dangerous.

"I thought Chelsea were in a bit of trouble at one stage and you could sense it in the stadium. The fans were getting nervous. Then [Marc] Cucurella's long-range effort squeezes in. It wasn't exactly Chelsea carving Leicester open and creating a clear-cut chance and finding that moment, it was a pot shot and that can happen.

"Leicester did a lot right but I just think 'where are the goals coming from?' There was threat, I thought [Jamie] Vardy had his moments, but it still didn't seem like quite enough.

"It would have relied on an own goal from [Wesley] Fofana for them to score. Leicester lacked a bit of cutting edge but defensively it was much better having watched them this season.

"Clearly Ruud van Nistelrooy did his homework and sat deep with that back five which is working against Chelsea at the moment. My concern would be whether this will work at home for Leicester."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

The latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Owynn Palmer-Atkin is joined my former Foxes winger Matt Piper and BBC Sport senior football reporter Nizaar Kinsella to reflect on Sunday's defeat to Chelsea, and what it may mean for the rest of the season.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Ricardo Pereira has vowed to give his "very best" in Leicester City's remaining 10 Premier League matches after making his comeback from a lengthy injury lay-off in the Foxes' 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, which saw them record their 12th defeat in 13 league games.

The right-back was substituted on in the 84th minute for fellow defender James Justin, as Ruud van Nistelrooy's side looked to get a result at Stamford Bridge, and he received a warm reception from the travelling fans.

After making his first Premier League appearance since November 2024, Ricardo posted on his Instagram account: "I really enjoyed being back today and I really missed this feeling.

"I will keep giving my very best to help and be helped.

"To turn this situation around, we need everyone in the last 10 games. I believe it's possible!

"Thank you Foxes for your warm welcome and your support."

Leicester City are currently six points adrift of Premier League safety, but they do have one final opportunity to get back to winning ways before the international break as 14th-placed Manchester United visit King Power Stadium.

Foxes fans, how are you feeling about Ricardo's return? Can he make the difference in Leicester's survival push? Let us know here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Leicester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans

John: Someone should tell Enzo Maresca to have a plan B. He is wearing down the players with his play-from-the-back style. He plays a very boring game, with short passes and no counter attacks!

Stephen: Not really impressed by the quality of work. They didn't seem able to break Leicester down.

Richard: Once again we dominate a game and struggle to win by one goal! I'm not convinced Maresca is the right manager, but at the moment is there an alternative?

Nick: It doesn't say much for the Premier League if we are fourth. I can't remember when I last saw Chelsea play well. When Cole Palmer isn't playing well we are awful, which doesn't say much for the rest of them.

Steve: The media will paint this as a gutsy performance by Leicester, but the reality is that Chelsea don't have the character or the ability to put weaker teams away - which makes them look better than they really are. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the season when they will come up against far better teams. Arsenal will knock in four or five against this Chelsea side in the next game.

Leicester fans

Aiden: Now it is five games without a goal in the league. We cannot expect to win games let alone draw without scoring. It can't keep going like this. You'd think having one of the best strikers in Premier League history would lead to us working out how to score?

Nigel: Great penalty save, but we are still not quick enough on the ball. I can't see anyway out now. Tough games ahead. We should play some of the academy players because they can't do much worse.

Chris: What do I make of it? Exactly the same as the last three months - good in places but can't hold on to a clean sheet and can't score to save their lives. Relegation was likely in August, but sleep walking into it with this total inability to score will definitely see us down. The season is over. Lord knows where we go after this.

Lee: No passion or guile in the final third so another zero in the goal scored column. Ruud van Nistlerooy needs to make way and go now to give us a good start in the Championship next season.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City

• Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal

Former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast about the battle to avoid relegation from the top flight:

"I did think Wolves might struggle without Matheus Cunha but they got a good draw against Everton.

"Ipswich are losing matches - I covered the game against Palace, they had chances and they were probably just not ruthless enough. They rely a lot on Liam Delap to score goals.

"It's not a good look on the Championship because it's the three teams that have come up that are going down. That's the gap between the Championship and the Premier League now.

"I still give Ipswich a fighting chance but it looks like it might stay like that."

Listen on BBC Sounds

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Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper says the Foxes "will be disappointed" to lose to Chelsea but "they can be proud of their efforts" at Stamford Bridge.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's side were defensively resolute, afforded Chelsea few chances and looked bright on the counter-attack during the first half.

But their final ball let them down and they left with nothing.

"They should have got something from the game," said Piper on the BBC Radio Leicester When You're Smiling podcast. "But when they get into threatening areas they fall down again. It feels like a broken record.

"The counter attacks were good but the final decision making by whoever was stood over the ball at the time did lack. We could have really taken something from this game because Chelsea were poor.

"They will be disappointed but they can be proud of their efforts.

"Although Chelsea weren't brilliant, they're still competing for Champions League football so what we came and did was impressive. It is just a shame that we couldn't get the goal.

"I have said it all season but I look at this team and they just lack that bit of quality. They can play well, and I tip my hat to them when they do, but they lack the ability at this level to claw back defeats to draws."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Former Leicester goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer says the narrow defeat to Chelsea was "a missed opportunity," as the Foxes hopes of Premier League survival gets smaller.

"Chelsea were awful in the final third when it came to their decision-making, Schwarzer told BBC Radio 5 Live. But Leicester did not create enough at the other end.

"It is a missed opportunity. They spent a lot of energy defending and they did not have much left in their tank when there were chances to go forward.

"The league table does not lie and the fact is that Leicester haven't been good enough to warrant a better position. I just don't see this team having the ability to get out of this relegation fight.

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In isolation, Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy will have taken some positives from his side's display during a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.

They were defensively resolute, afforded Chelsea few chances and looked bright on the counter-attack during the first half.

The problem is that, with 10 matches left in the Premier League season, Leicester cannot afford to judge anything in isolation.

The only thing that matters at this stage is points and Leicester are not earning enough of them to survive.

The defeat was Leicester's 12th in their last 13 league matches.

Rivals Ipswich were beaten late on at Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Wolves played out a 1-1 draw with Everton at Molineux to move six points clear of the relegation zone.

Neither side would have banked on Leicester getting anything away at Stamford Bridge but the Foxes are running out of chances to capitalise on their rivals' slip-ups.

Leicester face Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Brighton and Liverpool in their next five fixtures.

To survive this season, they will have to spring a surprise somewhere.

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Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy speaking to Sky Sports: "I get good at this after games. A good performance on and off the ball, everything was there and I think the players deserved more. We came away with a penalty save to go into half-time at 0-0. It's the kind of luck you need sometimes to turn things around.

"Lots of positives again but we have to take the blow of taking nothing.

"We took one week to prepare for this and it was really positive. We didn't expect it to be this good. It suited the players and the profiles we have. It gave us more stability defensively and more support up front with two nines. It is something to build on."

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City have lost five consecutive league games without scoring for only the third time in their history, after January 1981 and February 2017.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of Leicester's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are three Premier League matches on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Tottenham v Bournemouth - Listen and follow the action here

• Chelsea v Leicester City - Listen and follow the action here

• Manchester United v Arsenal (16:30) - Listen and follow the action here

Kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

After beating Southampton last time out, this feels like another 'gimme' for Chelsea, and just when they needed it.

With the two teams immediately above them, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, playing each other on Saturday, Chelsea could end up as high as third if they win this and, let's face it, they are very likely to take the three points.

I am sure Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will say lots of nice things about his former club but he will be absolutely desperate to pump them here.

I think they will win easily, too. I feel sorry for Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy because he has been dealt a terrible hand, and in the background there is frustration from the Foxes fans about the running of the club.

It feels like there was muddled thinking from the club's owners to appoint Van Nistelrooy, based on the fact he had beaten them while he was in caretaker charge of Manchester United.

Lots of managers could have got the job if that was the criteria. I would even have fancied my Lincoln City team from a few years back to have beaten Leicester this season so I could have ended up manager there.

I guess that shows any unhappy fans that things could always be worse.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Before Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hosts his former side Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, we asked our fan writers for each club to answer question about the Italian coach.

How have you found life with Maresca?

Ross: It has been a tale of two seasons so far. While much of the focus has been on Chelsea's decline in attacking output - and perhaps unfairly on Cole Palmer given the continual reliance on him - so far Maresca's style of play has left the defence consistently vulnerable, even before considering the poor play from our goalkeepers. His team creating chances has not been the problem at least, finishing them has.

How have you found life without Maresca?

Kate: It's been very tough and challenging and having two managers so far this season hasn't helped. We had a plan in place with Enzo to take us through the next few years, a style of football where everyone was engaged, and we had the correct personnel to take this forward. The replacement of Enzo with Steve Cooper was an about turn on this style of football and therefore upon the transfer policy, leaving us with a real mixed bag of personnel for different styles of play. We have therefore struggled to find an identity and a successful way of playing this season.

What mistakes has he made at Chelsea?

Ross: Maresca has been late to change things around in games not going our way and seldom changes formations, generally only swapping his wingers around.

Madueke, Sancho, Neto, Felix and Nkunku have all had spells of poor play, but it feels like he has missed a trick by not utilising Palmer on the right to present opponents with different problems.

The outcome has been the departure of Felix, while Nkunku has had little opportunity to find form just when he is needed most.

What are the typical mistakes or annoyances at Leicester?

Kate: Individual errors have hampered our performances this season and these have mainly come from the defence. We haven't addressed these and still concede over two goals per game. This has been a season-long frustration. However, since Ruud's appointment, the goals have also completely dried up due to the cautious style of play and we have only scored four goals in the last 12. These on pitch frustrations have led to fan frustrations directed towards the club board, which have boiled over in the form of a fan protest. Things do not seem cohesive.

Find more from Ross Mooring at Chelsea Fancast, external and Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external

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Before Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hosts his former side Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, we asked our fan writers for each club to answer question about the Italian coach.

Is he the man to guide Chelsea's future?

Ross: The jury is out on this one and it is concerning that the attack has dropped off as opponents have keyed in on our style of play.

This is not only on the players' backs as it seems as if they are not coached in the art of being compact when needed.

However, it is still early in Maresca's reign and the current recruitment team has only hit on Palmer and Moises Caicedo thus far while there are still deficiencies in at least three positions.

Would he have kept Leicester up?

Kate: Most fans would agree that the style of football under Enzo, with the personnel that we had, would've made our Premier League survival hopes very slim. Possession based football with slow build up play means that you rely upon your team to keep the ball - Leicester are not very good at this. So he would have been up against it and would have needed a gem of a transfer window to make this work. Otherwise a plan B would have been required and I am not sure we ever saw that Enzo had this in his repertoire.

How far can he take the Blues?

Ross: Arguably more concerning than the league form were the insipid displays in the cup defeats at Newcastle and Brighton and the poor messaging from Maresca that accompanied them.

There is tempering expectations and then there is excusing one's players from properly applying themselves.

Players pay attention to what their managers say and even if we are to win the Conference League, the mentality has to be right to win major honours.

As a Foxes fan, do you think he will succeed at Chelsea?

Kate: I think he will obtain European football each year and in some competitions have a really good run. However, like Leicester, I think that certain things need to be sorted behind the scenes with transfer policies and recruitment. In the Premier League, I think there are better teams that can play his style of football and achieving top four will be tough but doable. A bad run of results at the wrong time can also lead to a sacking, so he is up against it for sure, but I wish him well.

Find more from Ross Mooring at Chelsea Fancast, external and Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external

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Leicester City right-back Ricardo Pereira will be available for the Foxes' trip to Chelsea on Sunday, Ruud van Nistelrooy has confirmed.

The defender has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the 1-1 draw with Ipswich in November, but the Foxes boss revealed he has now returned to first-team training.

Van Nistelrooy added: "This was his first week of full team training, so he will be available for selection. It is good news.

"One week of team training and we want to build him up, with common sense, and see how he goes. Then we can take it from there."

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Leicester have won just one of their past 11 Premier League away games against Chelsea, netting just seven goals in that time and never more than once in a match.

Leicester City have lost 11 of their past 12 Premier League games, losing four in a row without scoring and conceding at least twice, since beating Spurs 2-1 in January. The Foxes could lose five straight league matches by margin of two goals or more for the third time in their history.

Pedro Neto has been involved in four goals in his past four Premier League games (two goals, two assists), one more than he was in his first 20 appearances for Chelsea. The most recent game against Southampton was the first time Neto has ever scored and assisted in the same Premier League match.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City academy product Ian Baraclough is hoping Ruud van Nistelrooy's side have used their 10-day break to "build some confidence back up", as the relegation-threatened side prepare to face Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Brighton and Liverpool in their next six games.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Baraclough said: "You can clearly see the team are playing without massive confidence in the ranks. Five losses on the trot and two wins in their past 15 games is not great going into the final part of a season.

"But, and I think Ruud van Nistelrooy has already said this, five points is not insurmountable at this point in the season. No club in that bottom four are really hitting the heights.

"They have to go on a run now. They have to believe, as a club and as players, that they can go and put a string of results together.

"Teams aren't going to give Leicester City too much of a chance going into these next six games, but that might be the catalyst of them thinking: 'Hey, what have we got to lose?'

"But currently they look devoid of attacking threat and confidence, that's for sure. So these past 10 days will hopefully have been a really important time to build some confidence back up and to prepare for the Chelsea game.

"If you can garner a bit of togetherness and generate a bit of personality in this team, there is no reason why they can't stay in this division."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds