There will be four minutes of stoppage time left to be played.
85'
Hazard sprays the ball out to Pedro on the wing, but Pereira is able to deal with the winger’s cross with an acrobatic clearance away from his goal. Chelsea looking more desperate as the end of regulation time approaches.
84'
K. Ịheanachọ enters the game and replaces J. Vardy.
Goalscorer Vardy soaks up the visiting support’s cheers and comes off for Iheanacho to a standing ovation.
82'
D. Gray enters the game and replaces J. Maddison.
Maddison gets himself a well-earned rest, coming off for Gray in Puel's first change of the match.
81'
N. Mendy gets yellow.
Mendy becomes the second player booked in the match after pulling Fabregas back as he ran on goal.
78'
Giroud does brilliantly to get on the end of a long pass, but his scissor-kick gets no contact on the ball whatsoever and Morgan clears any danger away!
77'
Azpilicueta clatters into Chilwell as the left-back tries to get a cross in, once again lucky not to even get booked. The free-kick is a disappointing one though, and Chelsea are able to clear.
75'
Cesc Fàbregas enters the game and replaces Jorginho.
Fabregas is brought on to the fray in Sarri’s final substitution as the playmaker comes on for Jorginho in one last attempt to spark some creativity in the midfield.
Hazard is unable to weave through the bodies in green near Leicester’s six-yard area after Giroud is able to knock down a pass from deep and the defence are able to clear!
74'
Azpilicueta floats in a good ball towards the towering figure of Giroud, but the France forward fouls captain Morgan while attempting to get a head on the delivery.
Minute
Description
71'
Maguire gives away a cheap foul in an area just outside of the Leicester box, which is cause for concern for a Foxes desperate to protect a fragile lead. Hazard’s delivery is weak though, and Albrighton is able to clear.
70'
Chilwell outmuscles Hazard and embarks on a lung-bursting run down his left. However, Kante is quickly on the chase, and manages to win a throw-in for the home side after some diligent defending.
68'
Ndidi’s shot is blocked after more good work by Maddison in the Chelsea half.
67'
Azpilicueta is lucky to escape a booking there after cynically stopping the excellent Maddison’s run down the right wing.
61'
R. Loftus-Cheek enters the game and replaces M. Kovačić.
O. Giroud enters the game and replaces Willian.
Sarri looks to freshen things up with a double substitution, with the first change being a straight midfield swap as Loftus-Cheek comes in for Kovacic.
Giroud is also brought on, with the ineffectual Willian being sent to the bench in his place.
54'
Schmeichel goes low, but catches Willian’s deflected shot with ease after the winger cuts in and shoots with his favoured right.
51'
J. Vardy has scored a goal for Leicester City! Assist by J. Maddison.
Maddison continues his excellent top-flight debut season form with great awareness in finding Vardy’s run inside the hosts’ box with an exquisite pass.
GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!! LEICESTER LEAD AT THE BRIDGE! Pereira makes a driving run into the Chelsea half and plays the ball to Maddison, whose sharp, incisive throughball finds an onrushing Vardy in the box, and the England forward fires it past Arrizabalaga with a powerful strike! 1-0 to Leicester, and Chelsea have it all to do now!
49'
Chilwell wins a throw-in off Azpilicueta after a good run down the wing, but the left-back’s attempt to switch the ball out to Ndidi ends on a whimper, and Chelsea get the goal kick.
47'
Kante gets in behind Maguire, but the midfielder’s low cross is blocked by the defender and it goes out for a corner. David Luiz is able to get a head on Willian’s set-piece, but the chance goes over Schmeichel’s bar.
46'
Chelsea get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
No changes to either side at the interval, as both teams retain their 4-3-3 shapes from the start of the match.
45' +1
HALF-TIME: CHELSEA 0-0 LEICESTER CITY
45'
Schmeichel has to beat away a wonderful first-time strike by Jorginho after some more extended Blues possession as Leicester attempt to hold on from a Chelsea onslaught as the half-time break approaches.
44'
There will be one minute of stoppage time left to play before half-time.
42'
Chelsea unleash a counter as soon as Leicester’s corner is dealt with, as Kante drives at goal only to find his path blocked by a sea of grey. He gets the ball to Kovacic who manages to switch it to Willian, but the Brazil winger ends his lung-bursting run with a tame effort that Schmeichel has little difficulty collecting.
39'
Choudhury does well to drive down the wing before getting clipped from behind by Alonso. Leicester barely able to get any momentum in the opposition half, never mind any sustained possession.
37'
Pereira clumsily fouls Willian a few yards outside of the away box. Hazard floats it in to the far post where Alonso is able to get a cross in, but the delivery’s blocked by Ndidi for Chelsea’s fourth corner. They’re unable to make anything of it though, as Schmeichel catches the ball with ease.
35'
Chelsea are getting closer and closer to breaking down Leicester’s resolve, and it’s no surprise that Hazard is at the heart of their attacking play. It surely won’t be long now.
31'
W. Ndidi gets yellow.
Ndidi clatters into Hazard while giving chase, evoking more fury from the home crowd. They get their wish, and Probert gets the yellow out for the game’s first booking.
29'
Maddison aims for Maguire for Leicester’s third corner, but the ball is too high for the defender to get any contact with it. Hazard fouls Pereira in decent free-kick territory for the Foxes, but the set-piece is wasted, Arrizabalaga catching the ball with ease.
28'
The Bridge erupts in anger as Hazard is flagged for offside after being released by Willian. Replays show that it was a very, very close decision.
27'
Lovely, incisive one-touch from football from Chelsea near the Leicester box as ex-Foxes midfielder Kante passes it to Kovacic who then releases Pedro on the wing. The winger’s cross is blocked, but skipper Azpilicueta takes a wild shot that goes well over the bar.
23'
Nearly 25 minutes gone, and neither side have had a shot on target so far. This is proving to be a tighter affair than most had predicted.
22'
Hazard goes down after a rough trip by Choudhury, and the Blues get a free-kick in prime Willian territory. He floats it into the box, but Maddison is able to clear.
19'
Hazard and Jorginho play a quick one-two near their box before the former attempts to unleash a counter-attack after Leicester’s corner, but they run out of ideas just as the visitors are able to bring bodies back into their half.
15'
Leicester admirably retaining their shape in these early moments as Chelsea continue to probe around the opposition half. Play ends after Kovacic’s first-time effort from outside the area after receiving Jorginho's pass goes high into row Z.
13'
Willian takes Chelsea’s first corner, but it is as bad a set-piece as you can take, the ball nestling into Schmeichel’s side netting.
10'
Willian delivers a deep cross from the right, but no one in blue is available to get on the end of his delivery.
9'
Kovacic quickly releases Pedro out on the left wing, but Pereira is able to stop him before any more danger can be dealt.
6'
And in a role reversal, it’s now Jorginho who gets fouled by Maddison, albeit from a more dangerous position. Willian’s free-kick is punched away by Schmeichel, but Chelsea regain possession.
4'
Maddison goes down after getting shoved from behind by Jorginho. The Leicester midfielder’s free-kick eventually gets to Chilwell, whose delivery is taken by Albrighton out on the other wing. The winger’s attempt at a cross is too high though, and Chelsea get the goal kick.
2'
Pedro runs down the middle and plays in Hazard, but the Belgian isn’t able to get the return pass in. He takes a while to get up after getting dispossessed.
1'
Referee Lee Probert blows his whistle, and Leicester get us underway at the Bridge!
The hosts are out in their familiar all-blue, while the visitors are sporting an all-grey number with orange details.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this Premier League contest as Chelsea host Leicester City at Stamford Bridge!
The Blues were deep into a three-month unbeaten run in all competitions before recent league losses to Tottenham and Wolves brought them back down to earth. Despite responding with hard-fought victories against Manchester City and at Brighton, Maurizio Sarri’s men still find themselves in fourth place and eight points behind leaders Liverpool. With Arsenal breathing down their necks and now level on points after their emphatic win against Burnley earlier, the hosts will see this as another must-win game to keep their title aspirations alive.
Leicester have been enduring a poor December since their victory against Watford on the opening day of the month, registering only a point from their last three league outings and slipping down the bottom half of the table to 12th. Ahead of a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge after a demoralising midweek EFL Cup penalty shoot-out loss to City, Claude Puel will have to do extremely well to gee up his Foxes for this tough fixture.
SUBSTITUTES: Danny Ward, Jonny Evans, Christian Fuchs, Demarai Gray, Vicente Iborra, Kelechi Iheanacho, Shinji Okazaki.
LEICESTER CITY XI (4-3-3): Kasper Schmeichel; Ricardo Pereira, Wes Morgan (c), Harry Maguire, Ben Chilwell; Hamza Choudhury, Nampalys Mendy, Wilfred Ndidi; Marc Albrighton, Jamie Vardy, James Maddison.
SUBSTITUTES: Willy Caballero, Gary Cahill, Davide Zappacosta, Ross Barkley, Cesc Fabregas, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Olivier Giroud.
CHELSEA XI (4-3-3): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta (c), Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso; N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic; Pedro, Eden Hazard, Willian.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how both sides line up, starting with the hosts.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near as the home crowd ramp up the noise.
While 'Sarri-ball' has been on full display at the Bridge, it is a surprise that the hosts have not yet broken the deadlock so far in a match that started to liven up towards the end of the half. They have been dominant in possession and have had the better of the chances - the crossbar probably still shaking from Hazard’s powerful strike - but will still have to be wary of their visitors, Arrizabalaga’s brilliant save from Ndidi a wake-up call to the threat they can carry.
Ndidi’s rocket of a shot aside, Puel’s men have been quiet in terms of chances despite a few threatening moments in the Chelsea half. While they were expected to have little of the ball - 23% possession so far - they have made up for it with a tight performance at the back, looking more organised than they have been in recent weeks. However, Hazard and company are still favourites with good reason, and the Foxes need to continue their first-half solidity to stand any chance at the Bridge.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
Next up for both sides is the annual Boxing Day fixture pile-up, with Chelsea looking to bounce back at Watford while Leicester have a tough one on the horizon as they host Manchester City.
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