Leicester City at Chelsea 2019 EPL Lines, Preview & Prediction

It sounds hard to believe, but it has only been four years since Leicester City won the English Premier League title — their only championship in 48 seasons in the top classification. If you had picked them to win at the start of the season, you would have collected on 5000-1 odds. They only dropped three matches all season long in a storybook season. Leicester City visits Chelsea in the second week of English Premier League play; the Blues finished third in the table last year and won the 2014-15 and 2016-17 titles outright. Will Chelsea convert this win at home, or will Leicester City grab the points? We have your soccer betting preview right here.

Leicester City at Chelsea 2019 EPL Lines, Preview & Prediction

The best pics from today’s pre-#CheLei session 📸

— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 16, 2019

• When: Sunday, August 18, 11:30am ET
• Where: Stamford Bridge, London
• TV: NBC
• Radio: None
• Live Stream: ESPN+
• Soccer Odds: Chelsea -164 / Leicester City +450 / Draw +275

Why should you bet on Leicester City?

Leicester City opened their 2019-20 campaign with a bit of a thud, drawing at home against the Wolverhampton Wolves, in scoreless fashion. Leicester City sent 16 shots toward the Wolves’ goal, but only one was on target. Wolverhampton launched eight shots, with just two on target. Leicester City controlled the ball for 70 percent of the game and completed 84 percent of their passes but simply could not push far enough into the Wolves’ defense to get dangerous scoring chances. They did force a dozen corner kicks, but none of those set-pieces converted into anything dangerous. If you like Leicester City against Chelsea, you see Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez contributing in a much more meaningful way in their attack. The Foxes did a good controlling the ball, especially in their own end of the pitch, but when it comes to the other half of the field, they still have some work to do if they want to strike some fear into the opposition.

Why should you put your money on Chelsea?

Chelsea opened with a dose of humiliation on the road, heading to Old Trafford to face Manchester United and taking a 4-0 shellacking. Manchester United did not take long to start the damage, as Marcus Rashford converted from the spot in the 18th minute. The score was 1-0 going into halftime, but after the intermission, the scoring got rolling. Anthony Martial added a goal in the 65th minute, and then Rashford completed his brace two minutes later. In the 81st minute, Daniel James finished the scoring. Chelsea actually outshot the hosts 18-11 (7-5 on target) and controlled possession for 54 percent of the game, converting 84 percent of their passes (to 80 percent for Man U). They forced five corner kicks and picked up four of a combined seven yellow cards in what became a spirited and physical matchup. The Blues looked much better in their match at the UEFA Super Cup, pushing Liverpool to penalties while taking 20 hots and controlling the ball for almost half the game. Jorginho and Olivier Giroud both found the back of the net for Chelsea in that match. The sooner the Blues can integrate Ngolo Kante into their overall scheme, the tougher they will be for opponents to deal with. Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction When these two teams met last year, they played to a scoreless draw. The Foxes come in with a diligent defense but without the talent in the offensive half of the field to make a dent against a Chelsea side that will be ready for some redemption after that thumping they took at Old Trafford. Chelsea will also draw a lot of energy from their home fans and should emerge with the win. I predict a final score of Chelsea 2, Leicester City 1.