No swift revenge for Chelsea against Leicester
FA Cup winners Leicester City didn't have too long to drink in their first ever triumph in the oldest domestic cup competition in world football before getting back to training to prepare for a second clash with Chelsea in the space of four days. Realistically speaking, avoiding defeat for the third time this season against the London giants ought to be sufficient to seal their place in next year's UEFA Champions League, notwithstanding the possible threat posed by Liverpool (this preview was written before their away trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday evening). Thomas Tuchel's charges will be desperate for revenge, and also extremely keen to ensure that their remarkable recovery under his auspices doesn't simply peter out in the final weeks. Read our preview here:
Neat flicks and Chilwell
Many of Tuchel's attack-minded players were off the pace in the Wembley showpiece, in equal parts toiling to the heroic resistance mounted by the Leicester rearguard, even after Jonny Evans' enforced withdrawal around the half-hour mark. One area they did get some joy in though was on their left flank. Given the need to switch things up with the remaining matches coming thick and fast, it would be no surprise to see former Fox Ben Chilwell start at Stamford Bridge. The substitute forced a wonder save from ex-teammate Peter Schmeichel almost immediately after coming on, and what was once perhaps the East Midlands outfit's strongest defensive area now appears to be their weakest, with Ricardo Pereira not recapturing the form he had before his injury, James Justin a long-term absentee, and Timothy Castagne being utilised all over the place to cover for other players. Even so, Chelsea need to find once more the cutting edge that has begun to elude them at the worst possible time, and none of the forwards are currently living up to their billing.
More meat on Hamza
Head coach Brendan Rodgers will also need to rotate his squad on the back of their superb efforts on Saturday. Not blessed with the same star-studded array of talents on his roster compared to Tuchel, there are nevertheless some handy players who will be looking to stake their claim in his plans in 2021/2022, where doubtlessly the squad will need to be strengthened to compete on four fronts. Defensive midfielder Hamza Choudhury is one such individual, and he'll be poised to replace matchwinner Youri Tielemans or Wilfred Ndidi in the heart of the five-man setup. At 23, he has not been getting enough minutes at this stage of his career, and in his cameo appearance on Saturday, he looked a little slow to react to the increased pressure the underdogs were put under. Again, the onus will fall on Chelsea to largely dictate play, and he needs to consistently demonstrate he has what it takes to remain at the King Power Stadium.
No early pensions
With Tammy Abraham seemingly out of the picture, a lot of the focus in the summer will be on making sure a star striker is brought to the club. Olivier Giroud is a great option to have in the squad, and the likes of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner are supporting acts rather than line-leaders. In the here and now, much of the focus will be on Masin Mount to come up with the goods, as he so nearly managed in the FA Cup final. With a kinder fixture list, Liverpool could really turn the screw on Chelsea ahead of the do-or-die Champions League final showdown with Manchester City. They simply have to beat Leicester on Tuesday night, but that doesn't appear anywhere near as likely as it would've done even under a month ago. 888sport have odds of 3.60 for a draw that does them no favours whatsoever.
