Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been previewing his side’s upcoming fixture against Chelsea.
Chelsea host Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
The Blues are the thick of the race for Champions League qualification this season, while the Foxes currently sit in the relegation zone battling to stay in the division.
It’ll be interesting to see how many changes Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca makes from Thursday evening’s 2-1 win away to Copenhagen in the Conference League.
Moises Caicedo is expected to start versus Leicester, even though he’s only one booking away from a two-game suspension.
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Ruud van Nistelrooy previews Leicester trip to Chelsea
When you factor in that Leicester have lost 11 of their previous 12 Premier League matches, it makes them serious underdogs when they travel to London on the weekend.
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Foxes manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has paid credit to upcoming opponents Chelsea ahead of Sunday’s game and predicts they’ll dominate the possession.
Van Nistelrooy said in his pre-match press conference via Leicester’s YouTube channel: “I watched their game yesterday [against Copenhagen], how they play, their approach, the squad they have, the quality they have, and the fight they are in to qualify for the Champions League. We know the task ahead is big for us, but we will do everything possible to get a result.
“We know that Chelsea will have a lot of the ball. We have to make sure we are ready for that. Defend well and see what we can do on the break, for example, to create chances.”
Chelsea recently had a team meal, organised by Reece James, to try to help the group bond together during a difficult run. Since then, they suffered a close defeat to Aston Villa and had back-to-back wins over Southampton and Copenhagen.
It feels like a game at home to strugglers Leicester comes at a good time in the season.
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Where Chelsea rank in the Premier League for possession
It’s been obvious from day one that Maresca wants his Chelsea side to dominate the football and control games.
Therefore, he may be encouraged that only Manchester City have averaged more possession than them so far in the Premier League this season.
Rank Club Possession
1st Manchester City 60.4%
2nd Chelsea 58.2%
3rd Tottenham 57.1%
4th Liverpool 56.6%
5th Arsenal 55.9%
6th Manchester United 53.6%
7th Fulham 52.7%
8th Brighton 52.2%
9th Aston Villa 51.8%
10th Southampton 50.9%
11th Newcastle United 50.4%
12th Brentford 48.0%
13th Wolverhampton Wanderers 47.4%
14th Bournemouth 46.9%
14th West Ham 46.9%
16th Leicester City 45.7%
17th Crystal Palace 43.5%
18th Ipswich Town 40.8%
19th Everton 40.5%
20th Nottingham Forest 40.1%
Squad possession in the Premier League during the 2024/25 season via FBREF
The Chelsea players enjoy Maresca’s tacticts and are still very much buying into his philosophy despite some mixed results in 2025. We’d just like to see a bit more penetration from the Blues to reward all the possession.
On Sunday, Chelsea simply must pick up three points against a Leicester side that look miles off it right now.