Leicester City vs Chelsea: Who will take Total Over in the Blue derby?

Leicester and Chelsea are set to make their long-awaited return to the EPL after the national team break. Will Brendan Rodgers outplay Thomas Tuchel, or will the Northern Irishman be left out again?

Despite a quality transfer campaign, Leicester are regressing. 12th place, coupled with unstable results and a weak performance in the Europa League, is making itself felt. The Foxes had enough for a winning streak of four games before they went down again. First, there was the home defeat to Arsenal (0-2), then the curious draw with Spartak (1-1) at home, and the draw with Leeds (1-1), who are troubled by injuries. And Leeds dominated at home and were closer to victory. The fact is that Leicester were also plagued by injuries: Thielemans, Fofana, Justin, and Bertrand. The absence of the former is the most tangible.

Despite a 1-1 draw with Burnley last round, Chelsea retained their first place, taking 25 shots towards the Clarets’ goal with 70% possession. Before that, the Blues experienced problems against Malmö, scoring just one goal, which was enough to win. There were 22 shots, 11 of them on target and 73% possession. And it was only 1-0. Tuchel’s attack seems to be getting out of hand in the absence of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner. Although Chelsea previously thrashed Norwich (7-0) and Newcastle (3-0). Let’s see how Thomas Tuchel deals with the new attacks. Meanwhile, the gap to Liverpool is now three points.

Leicester and Chelsea have met 120 times. Leicester have a two-goal advantage, 58-28. Last season, the Foxes hammered the Blues twice. First, Leicester dismissed Frank Lampard in the Foxes’ 2-0 win at the King Power. Then, Leicester upset Chelsea under Thomas Thomas in the FA Cup final, 1-0. But the Blues got their revenge for all the wrongs and knocked Rodgers’ Foxes out of the EPL top-four with a 2-1 win.

We reckon Leicester won’t pull out with their current losses, just as they did with Arsenal. The hallmark of Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel is that his team plays well against the top sides, regardless of what that entails. The Londoners can take points in the cold-blooded, cynical way that is typical of a championship team. Bet365 has odds of 1.75 for the visitors’ victory.

We also believe the game will be low-scoring due to the absence of Thielemans, Lukaku, and Werner. However, even if Lukaku returns to the field, it’s worth remembering that he’s not noticeable in top matches. Therefore, we’re expecting a tight contest with constant difficulty cracking penalties. That’s why we recommend you Total Under 2.5 goals for 1.85.

To conclude, we believe that the first goal will not be scored immediately, as both clubs will be rocking for a long time after the break. Moreover, they are very tactically and disciplined to be cautious, especially at the beginning. Therefore, we believe that the score will be opened from the 30th minute onwards and not in the first 29 minutes. 1xbet gives odds of 2.10 for this betting option.