[4-2-3-1]: Felix first PL start, Enzo returned to first-team and Madueke benched- Chelsea confirmed lineups against Leicester City as Maresca finally gives Felix first Premier League start- Enzo returned to first-team and Madueke benched

Leicester City and Chelsea will face battle at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, marking the return of Premier League play following the international break.

The 12.30pm kickoff sees Blues manager Enzo Maresca meet with the team he brought back into the top division at the first attempt last season, and his successor Steve Cooper seems certain to keep them there.

Match preview
The reception Maresca receives from the King Power faithful should dominate the preamble on Saturday; despite leading the Foxes to the Championship title and the coveted prize of top-flight football, the 44-year-old’s style of play did not appeal to every supporter during their sticky patches.

However, Maresca has been working his managerial magic at Chelsea, who have surprisingly risen to the top three of the Premier League standings, albeit only by virtue of a higher goal difference than Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Chelsea’s ambitions have been harmed slightly by a run of only one victory in their last four Premier League matches, though their three winless games in that span came against Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal, the latter of whom were undone by a fine Pedro Neto equaliser in a 1-1 draw on matchday 11.

Coincidentally, Arsenal were the last team to shut Chelsea out of a Premier League away game in April; since that 5-0 Emirates humiliation, the Blues have scored in eight consecutive top-flight matches on the road, and their 12 goals on the road are the best in the division so far this season.

The West London giants have usually failed to pick up where they left off after a holiday, having won only one of their past seven games after an international break, a success away to Bournemouth in September.

Cooper has been tasked with maintaining Leicester in the Premier League after Maresca returned the Foxes to prominence, and he has done it so far, even if results prior to the two-week break left much to be desired.

Leicester had gone winless in all competitions since their legendary late success over Southampton in October, losing to Manchester United twice (once in the EFL Cup), Nottingham Forest, and almost Ipswich Town, whom they cruelly denied victory with almost the final kick of the game.

However, a score of 10 points from 33 on offer is good enough for 15th position in the Premier League standings, three points above of Crystal Palace in the highest relegation slot, and the Foxes have yet to suffer back-to-back home losses in the 2024-25 season.

As Chelsea makes nets bulge for fun on the road, Leicester has scored in all six of its King Power fixtures in all formats this season, with the only home game in which they scored more than one goal being their 4-0 thrashing of Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Cup.

Furthermore, Leicester hasn’t beaten Chelsea since Youri Tielemans’ miraculous strike in the 2020-21 FA Cup final, losing five and drawing one of their past six meetings, with the Blues winning 4-2 in the quarter-finals of England’s most prestigious knockout event last season.

Leicester City’s potential starting lineup: Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Ndidi, Soumare; El Khannouss, Edouard, Mavididi.

Chelsea’s likely starting lineup: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.