Congratulations to former Chelsea coach Brendan Rodgers and Leicester on their first FA Cup success, but the Blues will instantly aim to knock the shine off that silverware by taking all the spoils on home soil in the Premier League tonight.

Whoever coined the phrase ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ did not need three vital league points against the team who beat them three days earlier at Wembley.

There have not been many worse weekends for the Chelsea family – since 1988, at least – but there is light blazing at the end of this particular tunnel. Several targets are still ours to seize, so out of disappointment some rapture may yet be ours.

Victory would put Thomas Tuchel’s side third and in the box seat for a Champions League place. Chelsea may not have beaten Leicester over the six most recent top-flight meetings between the two, but we have won eight in an unbeaten run of 11 league matches against any club played on a Tuesday since 2002.

For this last home match of the campaign, and the most pivotal so far, 8,000 supporters will form the first crowd at Stamford Bridge since December. If you are lucky enough to be there, be sure make your encouragement heard throughout.

Chelsea team news

In successive outings, Thomas Tuchel has seen his side fail to score and lose by the minimum against Arsenal and Leicester. Both teams defended deeply, depriving the Blues’ forwards space behind, and packed the centre of midfield with bodies to stop through-passes.

They also worked very hard to stop the slick passing routines that have broken through other opponents’ pressing. The numbers show the Blues were outgunned in areas such as tackling and intercepting. Leicester won more duels than the Londoners, especially at set-plays but, equally, the Blues nullified their usual counter-attack and reduced them to scraps in front of goal – Youri Tielemans’ winning strike was their only shot on target.

As Tuchel recently noted, though, a drop in his team’s intensity of five or even one per cent makes a big difference. The Foxes were careful to make dangerous passes tricky but leave an innocuous pass open – one of the reasons the Blues’ first accurate strikes came in the final quarter-hour.

The Bavarian will demand more endeavour and more bravery tonight, when the performance is nowhere near as important as the points. It is vital the first big partisan audience since December plays its part in securing the win to bring a happy ending to a disappointing week.

The coach is likely to revert to Edouard Mendy in goal, and has hinted at involvement for Andreas Christensen and Mateo Kovacic, both now fully fit. At Wembley, Reece James was placed on the right of the back three to handle Jamie Vardy’s pace, but Christensen is also rapid. The Foxes found the dynamism of substitute wing-backs Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi harder to handle.

Foxes round two

Leicester City opened our home campaign last season and bring the curtain down at Stamford Bridge in 2020/21, hopefully not as focused as usual after their head-turning success.

Brendan Rodgers executed a blocking plan against his former club three days ago at Wembley. Four men in midfield played narrow to prevent Chelsea’s usual fluent one-touch passing from back to front, with striker Kelechi Iheanacho also dropping back to help harass Jorginho.

Further back, centre-half Jonny Evans positioned himself very deep to prevent runs in behind, and it was long after his injury-enforced departure that the Blues’ wing-backs made any headway in that area. Substitute Ben Chilwell’s 77th-minute header from N’Golo Kante’s chip was our first on-target attempt.

The Foxes’ centre-backs had licence to chase a forward upfield to prevent him turning towards their goal, but Rodgers was happy to cede possession on the flanks as his defence dominated the aerial challenges arising from crosses as well as corners.

That has not always been the case with Leicester’s zonal marking – only five top-flight clubs have conceded more goals from set-plays this season. Leicester have let in a third more league goals than tonight’s hosts, and only the brilliance of Kasper Schmeichel and the resolution of the VAR’s screen prevented the Blues equalising on Saturday.

Evans has been ruled out, suggesting the visitors will stick with the back-four they switched to at Wembley. Rodgers does not make many changes match to match but James Maddison and Marc Albrighton may be given the nod this evening.

How to watch Chelsea-Leicester

This match will be covered live by Sky Sports in the UK. To find the relevant broadcaster where you are elsewhere, see the Premier League’s broadcast schedule pages

Chelsea TV’s matchday coverage can be found on the 5th Stand app, Facebook Live and the official YouTube channel.

Chase for top-four places

The day before Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge, Chelsea were nine points adrift of Leicester having lost to them in the previous league outing.

Tonight, the reverse fixture is the last ‘six-pointer’ of the run-in. A home victory would put the Blues one point ahead of the Foxes with one game remaining. It would also seal a Europa League place at least, end the Champions League aspirations of two London rivals and, perhaps decisively, extend our goal difference advantage.

Were Liverpool, Spurs and West Ham all to win their midweek fixtures Chelsea will go to Villa Park on Sunday knowing anything less than three points could spell trouble. However, points must be dropped the same day at the King Power stadium, where Leicester will host Tottenham.

Tuchel’s team can also qualify for next season’s elite competition by beating Manchester City in this year’s final on 29 May.

Back-to-back games in cup and league

The last time Chelsea played the same side in the top flight three days after meeting them in an FA Cup final was in 2012, the middle of three seasons in which the final was played before the league campaign reached its conclusion. Back then the Blues beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley, but a much-changed side was beaten 1-4 at Anfield the following Tuesday.

The loss to the Reds closed off any route to top four but Roberto Di Matteo’s men famously qualified for the Champions League by beating Munich on their home patch in the final a later that month.

Change in Saturday TV match slots

The three-year renewal agreement between the Premier League and TV broadcasters closes an anomaly whereby teams playing midweek in the Champions League were asked to play on Saturday lunchtime.

BT Sport has announced that instead, such clubs who are selected will play at 7.45pm on the same day, giving extra recovery time. Chelsea have not yet qualified for Europe’s elite competition next season, and it is not clear whether this change also apply to games following international matches, when many teams only have their players back on the Thursday. The Blues’ surprise loss to West Brom came straight after an international break in a lunchtime Saturday slot.

Your matchday souvenir

The last match day programme of the season will be on sale at the Bridge to those attending. It can also can be bought online for£3.50 plus postage.

Premier League fixtures

TuesdayMan Utd v Fulham 6pm (Sky Sports)Southampton v Leeds 6pm (Sky Sports)Brighton v Man City 7pm (BT Sport)Chelsea v Leicester 8.15pm (Sky Sports)

WednesdayEverton v Wolves 6pm (Sky Sports)Newcastle v Sheffield Utd 6pm (Sky Sports)Tottenham v Aston Villa 6pm (Sky Sports)Crystal Palace v Arsenal 7pm (BT Sport)Burnley v Liverpool 8.15pm (Sky Sports)West Brom v West Ham 8.15pm (Sky Sports)