Maybe Leicester can be champions after all, says Mourinho

A Leicester win on Monday would mean a 49-point swing in their favour compared to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea after 16 games of the previous campaign.

The Italian, though, has tipped Chelsea to have a resurgence and to reach the top four, something which was welcomed by Mourinho, whose position is under scrutiny after the holders’ miserable start to the season.

The 64-year-old Ranieri will be leading out of the players’ tunnel one of the most unfashionable Premiership leaders the league will ever see.

“He will be relishing this, he will see this as a challenge of his management skills and I am pretty sure he will turn it around”.

When the Chelsea manager looks across the dugout at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday morning (Singapore time), he may find a sympathetic face.

“If we are where we are it’s because we are under-performing and if Leicester is where they are, it’s because manager and players are doing magnificently well”.

Manchester United will bid to respond from their Champions League exit at Bournemouth, a side whose attractive philosophy was rewarded with a victory at Chelsea last weekend. Vardy has been named the Premier League’s player of the month for the second month in succession.

There will be no exchange of flowers but when Mourinho charted the evolution of his relationship with Ranieri and spoke with genuine admiration for the work he has done at Leicester – they were top until Manchester City’s late victor against Swansea, while Chelsea sit glumly in 15th – and it was clear the daggers that were once drawn, mainly by Mourinho, have long since been put down. I go to Madrid and Claudio goes somewhere else – I don’t remember where, and when he goes to Inter I felt what I always feel, which is I always want Inter to win.

“Everyone expects them to win every game but we’re full of confidence and we should be looking to get a win”.

Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy would still be a success at a bigger club, according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

“It would be something magnificent, it would be something to impress the football world, but sometimes these things can happen and why not happen with them?”

Many sports writers didn’t think Ranieri was the right choice when he took over at Leicester at the start of the season.

Ranieri would rather not be drawn into his time at Chelsea ahead of the clash. I know the distance between them and Man United, Man City, Arsenal is only a few points but they are the ones who deserve all the respect and compliments.

The Chelsea manager said: “I think he should win manager of the half term”.