Wednesday night’s crucial Barclays Premier League encounter at the King Power Stadium sees Leicester on a great run of form, so how can they beat Chelsea?
Chelsea are looking to wrap up the league title tonight, but Leicester have other ideas as they lie one place and one point above the drop zone. Although the Foxes have won their last four games in succession, that run of form can be traced back to two games previously.
At Spurs on March 21st, Nigel Pearson’s men fought back from 2-0 down to draw level before a flurry of late goals resulted in a 4-3 defeat that was hard to take. That day also saw a first goal since September for Jamie Vardy, and has triggered a run of form for the 28-year-old that has resulted in three goals in five games, including the decisive goal in the 1-0 win at Burnley last Saturday and a dramatic winner at West Brom two weeks before.
Leicester had struggled to find the net in the games before the Spurs defeat, and somehow those three goals have ignited the Foxes. They picked up a point in a goalless draw against fellow strugglers Hull in their next fixture, before embarking on the four straight wins.
The table below shows all the goal threats from these last six games from the Spurs defeat onwards:
| Position | Team | Goals | Goal Assist | Total Scoring Att | Ontarget Scoring Att | Big Chance Missed | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Vardy | FW | Leicester | 3 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 540 |
| Andy King | MF | Leicester | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 225 |
| David Nugent | FW | Leicester | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 276 |
| Esteban Cambiasso | MF | Leicester | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 536 |
| Robert Huth | DF | Leicester | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 526 |
| Wes Morgan | DF | Leicester | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 534 |
| Leonardo Ulloa | FW | Leicester | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 388 |
| Marc Albrighton | MF | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 297 |
| Matthew James | MF | Leicester | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 343 |
| Andrej Kramaric | FW | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 178 |
| Tom Lawrence | FW | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Riyad Mahrez | MF | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 197 |
| Matt Upson | DF | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 135 |
| Jeffrey Schlupp | DF | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 450 |
| Marcin Wasilewski | DF | Leicester | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 225 |
| Ritchie de Laet | DF | Leicester | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 353 |
Vardy tops the table of goals scored, but also has a healthy ‘shots on target’ percentage of 53 and has contributed with two goal assists.
Elsewhere, Andy King has continued his fine goal contribution from midfield, scoring from both of the goal attempts he has made in the last six games, with vital late strikes in the wins over West Ham and Swansea. Striker David Nugent has made a good contribution in the four games he has played, scoring twice and laying on one goal for a teammate.
Centre half Robert Huth is not the most reliable goal threat, but at least he is trying. Ten goal attempts in six games is admirable for a defender, but only one on target is perhaps what you might expect. That said, his sole attempt on target was the crucial equaliser at the Hawthorns as Leicester fought back for a late 3-2 victory.
The major disappointment for Leicester is undoubtedly, the big signing Leonardo Ulloa. The 28-year-old Argentine signed from Brighton in the summer has contributed 10 goals this season, but only one in the last six games. This was the opening goal in the 2-0 win over Swansea at the King Power Stadium. But that strike was Ulloa’s only attempt on target in those six games with six attempts being off target and three big chances missed.
Certainly, if Leicester are to continue their fine form and escape from relegation, they need to take something from Wednesday night’s game with Chelsea, and Nigel Pearson will want his big players firing. This means Ulloa needs to step up to the plate.
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