Chelsea vs. Leicester Predictions: Back Maddison in the Shots Market

Chelsea host Leicester on Thursday evening in their penultimate game of the Premier League season. A win against the Foxes would secure a third place finish, while Leicester still have hopes of a top-eight finish which would guarantee Brendan Rodgers’ side a place in the Europa League next season. We’ve previewed the action and provided our best bets for the game from Stamford Bridge. 

Talks continue off the pitch at Chelsea in regard to the sale of the club. On the pitch, Thomas Tuchel’s side were beaten on penalties in the FA Cup final on Saturday and will be looking to bounce back quickly. However, Chelsea have only won one of their last five home matches against Leicester, with the visitors priced at 8/1 to take all three points on Thursday.

Chelsea have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, with their only victory coming against a 10-man Leeds last week. After their game with Liverpool went to extra-time, Thomas Tuchel is expected to make numerous changes. Timo Werner, Ben Chillwell, and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all confirmed absentees, while Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva are a doubt.

Danny Ward started in goal on Saturday for Leicester against Watford, although Kasper Schmeichel is expected to return for the final two games of the season. Wilfred Ndidi, Ryan Bertrand and Nampalys Mendy will all miss the trip to the capital, while there is a slight doubt over Youri Tielemans and Ricardo Pereira. 

The first selection we are touting from Stamford Bridge is for James Maddison to have Over 1.5 shots in the match. At the time of writing, this is available at even money (1/1) with Unibet, which looks to be the best price out there. Coral go just 2/5 on this same bet with others such as Betfair slightly, bigger at 8/11. 

Last season, Maddison started 24 league games in the top-flight for Leicester and he cleared this line of Over 1.5 shots in 16 of those. In four of those Maddison recorded six shots, and he’s certainly a player who doesn’t have a ceiling when it comes to racking up the attempts.

This campaign he has registered 2+ shots in 18 of his 24 league starts (75%). With this in mind there’s certainly a case to be made for this being a value selection with odds of even money implying a 50% chance of winning. 

Over his last four appearances Maddison has scored two goals and has registered shot figures of 5,2,4 & 3. A free-kick taker and not frightened to have a pop from range, we fancy him to have at least a couple here against a Chelsea side who have won just one of their last five.

We’ve also decided to have a bit of loose change on a longshot for this game, which weighs in at 37/1 with Paddy Power. We’ve combined both Reece James and James Maddison to have an assist anytime in the match via the Bet Builder feature on Paddy Power, with both picks being best-priced with the Irish bookmaker.

In all competitions, Reece James has registered nine assists in 31 starts in the 2021/2022 campaign. Seven of those have come in the Premier League, including one on his most recent outing against Leeds last week. In the league it’s seven assists in 20 starts for the Chelsea wing-back this term, giving appeal to the 16/5 on offer with Paddy Power. Of all the players with 10+ appearances for the Blues this season, James has amassed the most Expected Assists (xA) per 90 minutes this season, and with him also being a corner taker, we think this looks a nice prospect for this match. 

Another who makes appeal in this market is James Maddison. The Leicester man has 11 assists to his name in all competitions this season, including two against Watford last weekend. 6/1 looks a little big here against Chelsea who have conceded four at home two Arsenal and two goals at home to Wolves in the last month. Those two player assists combine for a 37/1 double with Paddy Power and can be backed by clicking the link above. 

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