Leicestershire

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  1. Are the current bottom three going straight back down?published at 08:17 10 March

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    Former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast about the battle to avoid relegation from the top flight:

    "I did think Wolves might struggle without Matheus Cunha but they got a good draw against Everton.

    "Ipswich are losing matches - I covered the game against Palace, they had chances and they were probably just not ruthless enough. They rely a lot on Liam Delap to score goals.

    "It's not a good look on the Championship because it's the three teams that have come up that are going down. That's the gap between the Championship and the Premier League now.

    "I still give Ipswich a fighting chance but it looks like it might stay like that."

    Listen on BBC Sounds

    Listen on BBC Sounds
  2. 'We could have really taken something'published at 08:10 10 March

    Jamie Vardy dejectedImage source, Getty Images

    Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper says the Foxes "will be disappointed" to lose to Chelsea but "they can be proud of their efforts" at Stamford Bridge.

    Ruud van Nistelrooy's side were defensively resolute, afforded Chelsea few chances and looked bright on the counter-attack during the first half.

    But their final ball let them down and they left with nothing.

    "They should have got something from the game," said Piper on the BBC Radio Leicester When You're Smiling podcast. "But when they get into threatening areas they fall down again. It feels like a broken record.

    "The counter attacks were good but the final decision making by whoever was stood over the ball at the time did lack. We could have really taken something from this game because Chelsea were poor.

    "They will be disappointed but they can be proud of their efforts.

    "Although Chelsea weren't brilliant, they're still competing for Champions League football so what we came and did was impressive. It is just a shame that we couldn't get the goal.

    "I have said it all season but I look at this team and they just lack that bit of quality. They can play well, and I tip my hat to them when they do, but they lack the ability at this level to claw back defeats to draws."

    Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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  3. 'A missed opportunity for Leicester'published at 16:54 9 March

    Jamie Vardy pressures SanchezImage source, Getty Images

    Former Leicester goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer says the narrow defeat to Chelsea was "a missed opportunity," as the Foxes hopes of Premier League survival gets smaller.

    "Chelsea were awful in the final third when it came to their decision-making, Schwarzer told BBC Radio 5 Live. But Leicester did not create enough at the other end.

    "It is a missed opportunity. They spent a lot of energy defending and they did not have much left in their tank when there were chances to go forward.

    "The league table does not lie and the fact is that Leicester haven't been good enough to warrant a better position. I just don't see this team having the ability to get out of this relegation fight.

  4. Leicester show fight but let rivals off hookpublished at 16:46 9 March

    Leicester CityImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Leicester City have lost 12 of their last 13 Premier League matches

    In isolation, Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy will have taken some positives from his side's display during a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.

    They were defensively resolute, afforded Chelsea few chances and looked bright on the counter-attack during the first half.

    The problem is that, with 10 matches left in the Premier League season, Leicester cannot afford to judge anything in isolation.

    The only thing that matters at this stage is points and Leicester are not earning enough of them to survive.

    The defeat was Leicester's 12th in their last 13 league matches.

    Rivals Ipswich were beaten late on at Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Wolves played out a 1-1 draw with Everton at Molineux to move six points clear of the relegation zone.

    Neither side would have banked on Leicester getting anything away at Stamford Bridge but the Foxes are running out of chances to capitalise on their rivals' slip-ups.

    Leicester face Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Brighton and Liverpool in their next five fixtures.

    To survive this season, they will have to spring a surprise somewhere.

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  5. 'Lots of positives again but we take nothing' - Van Nistelrooypublished at 16:39 9 March

    Ruud van NistelrooyImage source, Getty Images

    Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy speaking to Sky Sports: "I get good at this after games. A good performance on and off the ball, everything was there and I think the players deserved more. We came away with a penalty save to go into half-time at 0-0. It's the kind of luck you need sometimes to turn things around.

    "Lots of positives again but we have to take the blow of taking nothing.

    "We took one week to prepare for this and it was really positive. We didn't expect it to be this good. It suited the players and the profiles we have. It gave us more stability defensively and more support up front with two nines. It is something to build on."

  6. Did you know?published at 16:24 9 March

    Jamie VardyImage source, Getty Images

    Leicester City have lost five consecutive league games without scoring for only the third time in their history, after January 1981 and February 2017.

  7. Sutton's predictions: Chelsea v Leicesterpublished at 11:00 9 March

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    After beating Southampton last time out, this feels like another 'gimme' for Chelsea, and just when they needed it.

    With the two teams immediately above them, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, playing each other on Saturday, Chelsea could end up as high as third if they win this and, let's face it, they are very likely to take the three points.

    I am sure Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will say lots of nice things about his former club but he will be absolutely desperate to pump them here.

    I think they will win easily, too. I feel sorry for Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy because he has been dealt a terrible hand, and in the background there is frustration from the Foxes fans about the running of the club.

    It feels like there was muddled thinking from the club's owners to appoint Van Nistelrooy, based on the fact he had beaten them while he was in caretaker charge of Manchester United.

    Lots of managers could have got the job if that was the criteria. I would even have fancied my Lincoln City team from a few years back to have beaten Leicester this season so I could have ended up manager there.

    I guess that shows any unhappy fans that things could always be worse.

    Sutton's prediction: 3-0

    Read the full predictions and have your say here

  8. Chelsea v Leicester: Life with and without Marescapublished at 14:04 8 March

    Split fan's voice graphic with Chelsea and Leicester badges

    Before Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hosts his former side Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, we asked our fan writers for each club to answer question about the Italian coach.

    How have you found life with Maresca?

    Ross: It has been a tale of two seasons so far. While much of the focus has been on Chelsea's decline in attacking output - and perhaps unfairly on Cole Palmer given the continual reliance on him - so far Maresca's style of play has left the defence consistently vulnerable, even before considering the poor play from our goalkeepers. His team creating chances has not been the problem at least, finishing them has.

    How have you found life without Maresca?

    Kate: It's been very tough and challenging and having two managers so far this season hasn't helped. We had a plan in place with Enzo to take us through the next few years, a style of football where everyone was engaged, and we had the correct personnel to take this forward. The replacement of Enzo with Steve Cooper was an about turn on this style of football and therefore upon the transfer policy, leaving us with a real mixed bag of personnel for different styles of play. We have therefore struggled to find an identity and a successful way of playing this season.

    What mistakes has he made at Chelsea?

    Ross: Maresca has been late to change things around in games not going our way and seldom changes formations, generally only swapping his wingers around.

    Madueke, Sancho, Neto, Felix and Nkunku have all had spells of poor play, but it feels like he has missed a trick by not utilising Palmer on the right to present opponents with different problems.

    The outcome has been the departure of Felix, while Nkunku has had little opportunity to find form just when he is needed most.

    What are the typical mistakes or annoyances at Leicester?

    Kate: Individual errors have hampered our performances this season and these have mainly come from the defence. We haven't addressed these and still concede over two goals per game. This has been a season-long frustration. However, since Ruud's appointment, the goals have also completely dried up due to the cautious style of play and we have only scored four goals in the last 12. These on pitch frustrations have led to fan frustrations directed towards the club board, which have boiled over in the form of a fan protest. Things do not seem cohesive.

    Find more from Ross Mooring at Chelsea Fancast, external and Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external

    An image detailing how to follow your Premier League team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.
  9. Chelsea v Leicester: Can Maresca kick a side on?published at 14:03 8 March

    Split fan's voice graphic with Chelsea and Leicester badges
    Enzo Maresca and Leicester owner 'Top' celebrate promotion on a city paradeImage source, Getty Images

    Before Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hosts his former side Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, we asked our fan writers for each club to answer question about the Italian coach.

    Is he the man to guide Chelsea's future?

    Ross: The jury is out on this one and it is concerning that the attack has dropped off as opponents have keyed in on our style of play.

    This is not only on the players' backs as it seems as if they are not coached in the art of being compact when needed.

    However, it is still early in Maresca's reign and the current recruitment team has only hit on Palmer and Moises Caicedo thus far while there are still deficiencies in at least three positions.

    Would he have kept Leicester up?

    Kate: Most fans would agree that the style of football under Enzo, with the personnel that we had, would've made our Premier League survival hopes very slim. Possession based football with slow build up play means that you rely upon your team to keep the ball - Leicester are not very good at this. So he would have been up against it and would have needed a gem of a transfer window to make this work. Otherwise a plan B would have been required and I am not sure we ever saw that Enzo had this in his repertoire.

    How far can he take the Blues?

    Ross: Arguably more concerning than the league form were the insipid displays in the cup defeats at Newcastle and Brighton and the poor messaging from Maresca that accompanied them.

    There is tempering expectations and then there is excusing one's players from properly applying themselves.

    Players pay attention to what their managers say and even if we are to win the Conference League, the mentality has to be right to win major honours.

    As a Foxes fan, do you think he will succeed at Chelsea?

    Kate: I think he will obtain European football each year and in some competitions have a really good run. However, like Leicester, I think that certain things need to be sorted behind the scenes with transfer policies and recruitment. In the Premier League, I think there are better teams that can play his style of football and achieving top four will be tough but doable. A bad run of results at the wrong time can also lead to a sacking, so he is up against it for sure, but I wish him well.

    Find more from Ross Mooring at Chelsea Fancast, external and Kate Blakemore at Leicester Till I Die, external

    An image detailing how to follow your Premier League team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.