Leicester City now turn their attention to the FA Cup as they prepare to make the trip down to the capital to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
The Foxes were held to a 2-2 draw at Hull City on Saturday and their lead at the summit of the Championship table has been cut to just three points.
Leeds United remain on their tails, as do Ipswich Town, so a break from their league commitments could be coming at a good time for Enzo Maresca‘s side.
Given Leicester‘s recent success in the competition (winning it back in 2021), they’ll be confident of causing a cup upset on Sunday.
Veteran striker Jamie Vardy is relishing the challenge and notes that he’s treating it like any other game.
Jamie Vardy sends warning to Chelsea
Vardy has enjoyed a productive campaign for the East Midlanders this season and is their top scorer with 15 across all competitions.
The 37-year-old has the best goal per 90 minutes ratio in the Championship, as per Fotmob, evincing just how clinical he remains.
Speaking after the stalemate at Hull on the weekend, Vardy previewed the Chelsea clash.
“Like any other game. We go into every game wanting to win. We’ll make sure we’ll recover from today’s game and then we’ll be back on the training field looking at how Chelsea play and how we can hurt them,” the Foxes forward told BBC Radio Leicester.
“They’re nothing different. They’ve had their troubles. Obviously, they’ve got brilliant players. On their day they’re an unbelievable team.
“But we know on our day if we’re playing the way we can play then we can beat anyone. So we’ll just look at it like any other game and we’ll be going there to win.”
FA Cup progression may ease FFP concerns
Leicester are at risk of breaching Profit and Sustainability rules this season and will likely need to raise funds before the end of June.
One way to do that would be player sales, though, in an ideal world, City will want to avoid moving on their key assets in the summer.
Progression in the FA Cup would serve as a great financial boost for the football club. If Maresca’s side defeat Chelsea, they’ll advance to the semi-finals which will be staged at Wembley Stadium.
The incentive to win on Sunday is only amplified by their FFP concerns, so the game’s importance is perhaps greater than that of their opponents.