Jose Mourinho expects Leicester City to avoid relegation from the Premier League and is taking nothing for granted as his title-chasing side go to the King Power Stadium tonight.
Win at Leicester and Chelsea, who are 10 points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, can claim their fourth title in 11 seasons on Sunday with victory at Stamford Bridge against Crystal Palace.
Leicester are the form team in the league though at present, having won their past four games, and Saturday’s 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Burnley, thanks to Jamie Vardy’s goal, lifted them out of the bottom three for the first time in five months.
“I was surprised with their bad position,” Mourinho said of Leicester. “For me it’s a good team, good players. I played them very early in the season at Stamford Bridge,” referring to the 2-0 win in August. “I could immediately feel the quality of the team.
“I was surprised that they were in a bad position. I’m not surprised they are out of the relegation zone. I will be not surprised when they stay in the division.”
One player stands out for Mourinho: the Argentine Esteban Cambiasso, a player he knows well from their time at Inter Milan.
“I won the treble with Cambiasso,” the Portuguese said. “He was fundamental in my golden team. He’s one of the players who means a lot to me, and he’s been phenomenal for them. I’m very happy for him.”
Chelsea will make a late decision over the fitness of top scorer Diego Costa (hamstring) and Oscar (head knock) and are without Loic Remy (calf).
The likes of Dominic Solanke and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were in FA Youth Cup final action on Monday night and may not be available to Mourinho meaning there little room for manoeuvre in team selection.
“Our squad in this moment, with the injuries we have, is very short and there is no space for a lot of rotation,” Mourinho said.
Although Leicester now have their survival hopes in their own hands, thanks to their recent run of inspired form, Nigel Pearson, the side’s manager, has said he is only interested in the team being out of the relegation zone come the end of the season on May 24.
“It’s to be out of them after the last game of the season which is going to be the most important thing,” he said. “For me it makes no difference whatsoever being out now.
“What they have to do is remain focused and that’s something we have to continue to work hard at.”
Of their renaissance, having spent a large chunk of the season at the bottom of the table, he added: “I’m not trying to play it down because at this stage and with the situation we are in it’s very positive to talk about four wins on the trot.
“But we talked about if we can get to the last four or fives games in contention ... and we are.
“If we can go to the last game with our fate in our own hands that will be something which maybe a couple of months ago you hoped for but it was not as realistic as it is now.”
Pearson could be without David Nugent (calf) and Vardy (foot) while Jeff Schlupp is also struggling with a calf problem.
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