Maresca's in-form Chelsea go into this weekend in the top three for the first time since the final day of the 2021/22 campaign. Saturday’s early 12.30pm (UK time) start after international players’ commitments, however, presents a stress-test of the Italian’s fine-balancing between workload, fitness, form and tactical necessity.

Leicester boss Steve Cooper is unbeaten in three prior matches against the Blues from his days at Nottingham Forest. That said, his current side are just three points above the drop zone and winless in three after a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, despite the hosts Manchester United mustering only three shots on target.

Recent history is also on Chelsea’s’ side. We are unbeaten in the past five Premier League encounters with Leicester home and away – including four wins – and 10 of our last 14 trips to this corner of the East Midlands across all competitions were victories.

Also, since the start of the 2020/21 season, the Londoners have lost just one of a dozen league outings at promoted clubs, comprising seven wins and four draws.

With 10 points and a goal difference of +7 from five games, Maresca’s team have the third-best away record in the league. Extending that trend and improving on back-to-back draws this month (albeit away at Manchester United and home to Arsenal) will be crucial, as a single point separates the teams standing third to ninth in the table.

Team news

Enzo Maresca's choices could be complicated by Romeo Lavia's fitness after he didn't feature for Belgium due to injury, when this lunch-time kick-off already means minimal recovery time for other key midfielders. The games involving midfield anchor Moises Caicedo’s Ecuador and top assister Enzo Fernandez’s Argentina finished in the early hours of Wednesday UK time. Hopefully both will be ready for action again so soon after the long flight home.

Reece James is the one player certain to be unavailable, due to a slight hamstring issue, leaving Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella as the likely candidates to fill the two full-back slots, although the likes of Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi have played there too this season so Maresca has options.

Thankfully Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Gusto, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho all rejoined training this week, while Joao Felix, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and Renato Veiga excelled on international duty. As a result, the Italian has happy decisions to make on most parts of the pitch, especially in the wide areas.

Although Pedro Neto grabbed headlines with his strike from the right wing against Arsenal, he also set up several gilt-edged chances from the left. That equaliser, by the way, means only Nottingham Forest (five) and Manchester City (seven) have scored more times from outside the box than Maresca’s Blues (three).

Freshness can make a difference in these early starts. Chelsea were 2-0 to the good inside 20 minutes in our only previous 12.30pm kick-off this season, at West Ham United. The Blues have also won all three away games this season when opening the scoring and the hosts have regularly conceded first.

Goal involvements in all club competitions 2024/25

The history

The Foxes' predecessors Leicester Fosse were Chelsea’s first-ever East Midlands hosts in September 1905, the Londoners’ winner in a 1-0 victory at Filbert Street in Division Two coming from James Robertson.

At the same stadium in April 1965, Tommy Docherty’s side secured a 0-0 draw with Leicester - 3-2 on aggregate after a first-leg win at Stamford Bridge - to secure London’s first League Cup final victory.

The Blues’ first league visit to the Foxes’ current lair the King Power Stadium came two years after its opening, on 11 January 2004, when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink capped his reinstatement as a starter with the opener after 12 minutes. A fierce free-kick from the Netherlands international then flew in off Nikos Dabizas but was judged an own goal, before late strikes by Adrian Mutu and Celestine Babayaro made it 4-0.

A more momentous visit came on 29 April 2015. Jose Mourinho’s league leaders conceded on the stroke of half-time, but Didier Drogba restored parity immediately after the resumption from Branislav Ivanovic’s cut-back.

The veteran striker, in for injured Diego Costa and Loic Remy, missed several further chances before sheer determination after a corner put the visitors ahead through John Terry. Seven minutes from time, Cesc Fabregas set up Ramires for a simple chance to complete a 3-1 win, leaving the Blues needing one more win for a fifth league title.

Brendan Rodgers was in the Foxes’ dugout for our most recent league visit in March 2023. Ben Chilwell netted brilliantly against his old club, but Patson Daka briefly rekindled the relegation-bound side’s hopes. Kai Havertz then neatly dispatched Fernandez’s sublime lob and Mudryk teed up Mateo Kovacic for a superb volley to make it another 3-1 victory.

Know this…

Three of Leicester’s 14 Premier League goals this season (21 per cent) have been scored against teams reduced to 10 men by a red card.

Chelsea won our only previous Saturday lunch-time kick-off this season with a clean sheet, a 3-0 victory at West Ham thanks to Nicolas Jackson (two) and Palmer.

Almost 70 years ago, during Chelsea’s 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on 18 December 1954, Leicester’s Stan Milburn and Jack Froggatt became the only recorded players in the history of England’s top flight to score a joint own goal.

The Foxes have conceded more own goals in the league this season (two) than any top-flight rival.

Only five of Leicester's 14 league goals this season have been scored at King Power Stadium.

Excluding penalty kicks, Jackson has the second-highest expected goals estimate (6.20), only behind Erling Haaland (10.30).

Chelsea shots have struck the frame of the goal eight times in the league this season, the joint-most along with Bournemouth and Man Utd.