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The task is pretty simple. Not in execution of course, just in scope. A visit to the home of the league leaders is never easy, even when those league leaders are surprise package Leicester City.
Former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri has the Foxes flying high, largely thanks to the production of the dynamic attacking duo of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. Stopping those two will be of paramount importance to any success on Monday.
Still, perhaps we should be more worried about what's working for us, rather than worrying too much about making sure things aren't working for them. Or, ideally, we do both, just like against Porto on midweek. In fact, for just the second time all season, I think we will name an unchanged lineup, as weird as it will be to go two games in a row without Cesc Fàbregas in the starting lineup.
4-2-3-1:
Courtois | Azpilicueta, Terry, Zouma, Ivanovic | Matic, Ramires | Hazard, Oscar, Willian | Costa
Gary Cahill could come in for John Terry at center back of course. And Fàbregas could change the dynamic in midfield by replacing either Ramires or Oscar. Or Mourinho could always do something completely off the wall, like deploying Kurt Zouma in a specialized marking role on either Mahrez or Vardy. But if he decides to build on the Porto result and trust the team as is, I would expect very few, if any, changes.
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The community , usually quite a bit bolder than yours truly, seems to have picked the exact same lineup as well!.
4-2-3-1:
Courtois | Azpilicueta, Terry, Zouma, Ivanovic | Matic, Ramires | Hazard, Oscar, Willian | Costa
It's not been often this season that we've got to advocate for not messing with success, for keeping the lineups stable. But that's exactly what we're predicting here. Hopefully it (or whatever Mourinho picks) has the desired effect.