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Foxes in with a shout if they can outbully Costa

Torn apart by Liverpool and Arsenal, it is high time Chelsea laid down a marker if they are to be considered title contenders this season — and the visit of Leicester City presents a welcome opportunity this evening. Could this be the day Antonio Conte’s master plan clicks into gear, or will the champions finally snatch their first points on the road? Our English Premier League analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) examines three defining battlegrounds that may decide the outcome …

N'Golo Kante. Photo: Getty Images

N'Golo Kante. Photo: Getty Images

Torn apart by Liverpool and Arsenal, it is high time Chelsea laid down a marker if they are to be considered title contenders this season — and the visit of Leicester City presents a welcome opportunity this evening. Could this be the day Antonio Conte’s master plan clicks into gear, or will the champions finally snatch their first points on the road? Our English Premier League analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) examines three defining battlegrounds that may decide the outcome …

HANDLING costa

If Leicester City do not concoct a game plan for containing Chelsea’s rampant, raging bull, they can forget all about collecting their first points on the road this season.

Diego Costa is back to his nasty best. While bashing up defenders, the resurgent Spaniard has plundered six goals in seven Premier League outings, exhibiting the kind of form that wowed Blues fans back in 2014.

How do you curtail someone as brutish and brilliant as an on-song Costa?

Arsenal have shown others the way. At the Emirates, Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny followed the frontman everywhere, thumping into the back of him every time the ball came his way. Not once did they let the Blues star settle on the ball without nibbling away at his ankles. The bully got bullied.

Switch off for a moment, though, and Costa will still bury you.

His hold-up play, natural power, touch and clever movement are right up there with the very best centre-forwards on the planet.

I believe Wes Morgan and Robert Huth can stand up to the striker’s physicality. They are big, tough guys who can look after themselves. But do they have the mobility to cope with the Chelsea talisman’s runs?

To have any hope of shackling him, Leicester’s centre-backs will need assistance from their fullbacks, and some stringent screening from the midfielders in front.

The less Chelsea’s main man sees of the ball, the more chance there is of an upset.

A CLASH OF SYSTEMS

Tactically, it will be fascinating to see if Conte’s new-fangled 3-4-2-1 can outfox the champions’ tried and trusted 4-4-2.

We have yet to see Leicester’s Jamie Vardy-Islam Slimani partnership click into gear (Vardy has received just five passes from the Algerian), but having two forwards occupying the new-look Blues’ back three should make things interesting.

Have Chelsea’s defenders had enough practice to cope with a quality strike pairing?

Chelsea would not even know that themselves until the duo tests them, so I hope Claudio Ranieri’s side shows ambition and gets the ball to them at every opportunity.

Vardy’s pace can stretch Chelsea, Riyad Mahrez’s craft will be tricky for new wingback Marcos Alonso to deal with, and if Conte’s men drop too deep, crosses aimed for the head of Slimani could be a problem. The ex-FC Porto star has netted three headers already in a Foxes shirt.

The issue the Foxes face is a lack of confidence. On the back of thumpings at Anfield and Old Trafford, you could not blame them for being a little more circumspect and defensive on this away trip.

If they sit back and choose to soak up the pressure, the scheming movement of wide men Oscar and Eden Hazard could be the biggest headache for Leicester. When Chelsea’s wingbacks fly forward on the outside, those two will both slip infield to vacate the space. This could create confusion among the Foxes’ fullbacks, and gaps may open.

This collision between a fresh system and one that is extremely familiar will be very interesting to watch.

KANTE VS DRINKWATER

To say the champions are sorely missing N’Golo Kante would be stating the obvious.

As hard as Ghanaian midfielder Daniel Amartey is working (and he covers almost the same amount of ground the Frenchman did last term), he just does not have the ball-retrieval skills of Kante.

Currently making less than a third of the tackles and interceptions per game than his predecessor managed en route to the title, it is little wonder Leicester’s ability to win turnovers and launch counters feels stunted.

To be frank, however, the 25-year-old Kante has not looked as impressive in a Chelsea shirt. While he is playing okay, the boundless energy and persistent bite he displayed at the King Power is yet to stand out so brightly. He does not look as well suited to Conte’s type of team.

His head-to-head with former partner-in-crime Danny Drinkwater will make for engrossing viewing.

Can the Englishman dominate his old buddy inside the midfield heartland?

With crucial defensive roles to perform, and each of them absolutely key to the way their teams’ spring fluid attacks, I am anticipating engine-room fireworks.

PREDICTION: CHELSEA 2 LEICESTER 1

The compactness and spirit that carried Leicester to the crown last season feel watered down at the moment and, until they resurrect those qualities, a campaign of mid-table obscurity feels increasingly likely.

Chelsea will miss Willian, who is mourning the death of his mother, but in Costa and Hazard they have two match-winners-in-waiting who should have too much quality for a visiting side that has leaked a string of soft goals on the road.

I expect Leicester to be better than they have been, but I cannot see it being enough.

BIG MATCH PREDICTIONS

Manchester City 2 Everton 2

Have Pep’s Manchester City been found out? If recent setbacks are a gauge, it appears they don’t enjoy handling high-intensity pressing, so with the astute Ronald Koeman in charge of Everton’s game plan, I’ll be shocked if the Toffees don’t ask the same questions.

As Saints boss back in May, the Dutchman inspired a ferocious 4-2 victory over the current leaders that exploited weaknesses down the flanks in the full-back areas, so expect Yannick Bolasie and Andros Townsend to be handed plenty of service.

It’s a tough ask for the Toffees, as City are still stupendous going forward, but I do believe they can make things exciting at the Etihad.

Arsenal 3 Swansea City 1

Swansea City might be in a spot of disarray, but Arsene Wenger won’t be looking forward to this one. On their last five Premier League visits to Emirates Stadium, the Welshmen have accrued 10 points to Arsenal’s four, making them a seriously surprising bogey team for the Gunners.

American Bob Bradley will have fancied an easier start to life as a Premier League boss, but there’s not a lot for his players to lose unless the hosts run up a morale sapping cricket score. And anyway, they should perform with renewed purpose and energy for the new gaffer.

Arsenal are in a lovely groove though. Providing they start quickly and take their chances, they should blow Swansea away. Recent history is a reminder that they can’t afford to be wasteful against this opponent.

LIVE ON TV

Tonight:

Chelsea v Leicester (Singtel Ch102 & StarHub Ch227; 7.30pm)

Man City v Everton (Ch103 & Ch228; 9.55pm)

West Brom v Tottenham (Ch104 & Ch229; 9.50pm)

Stoke v Sunderland (Ch105 & Ch230; 9.50pm)

Bournemouth v Hull (Ch106 &Ch231; 9.50pm)

Arsenal v Swansea (Ch102 & Ch227; 10pm)

Sunday:

Crystal Palace v West Ham (Ch102 & Ch227; 12.30am)

Middlesbrough v Watford (Ch102 & Ch227; 8.30pm)

Southampton v Burnley (Ch103 & Ch228; 10.55pm)

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