Leicester vs Chelsea: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup and injuries

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Cole Palmer is expected to start for Chelsea as they return to Premier League action against Leicester City this afternoon.

Both Palmer and Levi Colwill withdrew from England duty last week, missing final Nations League games against Greece and Republic of Ireland. Palmer was on the receiving end of a nasty challenge from Lisandro Martinez late on against Manchester United on 5 November, missing training leading up to the draw with Arsenal last time out.

While he played the full 90 minutes at the Gunners, the game passed Palmer by and the midfielder did not look comfortable as he left the pitch that afternoon.

While there will be final fitness checks this morning, both Palmer and Colwill trained this week and are expected to start on Saturday.

There was more injury frustration for Reece James, however. The Blues captain will not be risked today having picked up a fresh hamstring issue in training this week.

Romeo Lavia meanwhile was forced off against Arsenal, later confirming he had picked up a 'little knock'.

While he was selected for the Belgium squad, he did not feature in games against Italy and Israel with Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco confirming he was still struggling with a hamstring injury.

Lavia is a doubt for the game against the Foxes with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo expected to reform their partnership in midfield despite both both making the long trip back to the capital after international duty in South America.

Malo Gusto was another forced off late on against Arsenal, withdrawing from the France Under-21 squad as a result. The right-back missed two games in similar circumstances in September but Gusto was also among the players pictured back in training at the start of the week.

His countryman Wesley Fofana was also in that group despite injury fears last week. Named in the senior France squad, the centre-half withdrew after 'experiencing pain in his left knee'.

After missing over a year of action, Chelsea have been carefully managing his fitness but the sight of him on the training pitch this week bodes well for the trip to his former club.

Jadon Sancho meanwhile is expected to be available having not featured since being hooked at half-time against Liverpool at the end of October. The winger has battled injury and illness in recent weeks.

Enzo Maresca returns to the King Power Stadium for the first time since leading the Foxes back to the Premier League last season.

The Blues starting XI has been a fairly settled one in the Premier League with Maresca making sweeping changes to the side for European and cup games – a situation that is reportedly frustrating Christopher Nkunku.

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Leicester

Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Neto, Jackson

Where to watch Leicester City vs Chelsea? Kick-off time and TV channel

Leicester vs Chelsea kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday 23 November.

The match will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate with a live stream available on the Discovery+ app for TNT subscribers.