‘Expect To See Changes For Chelsea’
- Chelsea could make a number of changes from Thursday’s shootout win over Eintracht Frankfurt, says Football London’s Oliver Harbord
- Brendan Rodgers’ men host Chelsea on Filbert Way on Sunday
- Harbord’s full Opposition View can be found on LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live from 2pm BST on matchday
The Foxes host Maurizio Sarri’s men on Filbert Way as their 2018/19 Premier League campaign comes to a close.
Chelsea’s involvement in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday saw them book a final spot against Arsenal following a penalty shootout triumph against Eintracht Frankfurt - their 60th competitive fixture of the campaign.
“It’s been a very, very long season with all of the rounds of the Europa League and getting the final of the Carabao Cup and playing some tough teams in that,” he said.
“It has been a long season for them and now they’ve got Champions League football guaranteed for next season, in the players’ minds, you’ve got to think this Sunday’s game isn’t quite that important as it potentially could have been.
“Whether some of them are maybe going to start shutting down a little bit and preparing for that Europa League Final in Baku, that might be the case.
“I expect to see some changes from Sarri as well and rotate the squad where he can to keep some players as injury-free and fresh as possible.
“They also fly to America as well for a post-season friendly on Wednesday, so I expect that their legs might be a little bit heavy this week.”
Harbord says Eden Hazard’s 120-minute display at Stamford Bridge, where he scored their decisive and final penalty, means he may not start from the off on Sunday, but Chelsea could still field a trio of international stars in attack.
Former City midfielder N'Golo Kanté, who helped the Foxes win the Premier League in 2016, will not feature due to a hamstring injury.
“With Hazard, it might be unlikely that he actually plays at the weekend,” Harbord added. “I can see a situation where Sarri does stick him on the bench.
“He’s had a lot of football with the World Cup and he’s obviously played a lot for Chelsea and been a key man for Chelsea. He played the full game at the weekend, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see maybe Willian and Pedro starting up front alongside [Gonzalo] Higuain.
“The other issue is N’Golo Kanté, who won’t be making a return at King Power Stadium this weekend. He’s still struggling with a hamstring injury and they want to get him fit for the Europa League Final.
“Andreas Christensen went off injured so you might expect Gary Cahill to start at the back. We haven’t seen a lot of Cahill this season and he had his Stamford Bridge farewell last weekend against Watford.”