Barclays Premier League as it happened: Leicester 1-3 Chelsea

A brief scare for Chelsea, but their second half performance was worthy of victory and Mourinho's side can now clinch the title with victory over Crystal Palace on 3 May.

As for Leicester, they impressed early on but were powerless to prevent defeat once they went behind to Terry's goal.

Pearson and his team will not be too disheartened, however, and Leicester's season will be defined by upcoming matches against relegation rivals starting with Newcastle at the King Power this weekend.

That is all from us tonight, see you again soon.

Full-time

Leicester 1-3 Chelsea

Fabregas off now, John Obi Mikel on for his fifth appearance since returning from a two-month injury layoff.

Three minutes of added time for Leicester to find a response.

A second change from Mourinho as Hazard walks off to be replaced by Juan Cuadrado.

Game, set and match for Mourinho's side, surely, as they double their advantage shortly after taking the lead.

Fabregas works his way to the byline, before cutting back for Ramires who lashes home an unstoppable effort from the edge of the box.

Kurt Zouma is on for Willian with five minutes of normal time remaining.

Goal: Leicester 1-3 Chelsea (Ramires)

Chelsea edge ahead through Terry after a corner was headed towards goal by centre-back partner Cahill. Schmeichel makes a terrific one-handed save, but the captain gambles on the rebound and gets there ahead of Cambiasso to bundle in.

Goal: Leicester 1-2 Chelsea (John Terry)

Ramires has not had the greatest of games for Chelsea and his shot is deflected wide after good work from Hazard.

Leicester use their final sub as Vardy makes way for Riyad Mahrez.

A mix-up on the edge of the Leicester penalty area sees Drogba nip in front of Hazard just as he is about to shoot. Chelsea searching for a winner but the hosts are holding firm for now.

Ulloa on the floor again after some tough defending from Ivanovic. It looks like he will be fine to continue but he is clearly disgruntled by the attention he is receiving from the Chelsea right-back.

Willian the next Chelsea player to try his luck after a pass infield from Azpilicueta, but his curled effort is too high and does not test Schmeichel.

James then shoots at Cech but the shot is blocked by Terry. Matic was booked a few moments ago and is now remonstrating with Cambiasso after appearing to receive an accidental elbow from the Argentine.

Another chance for Drogba as he checks his run, receives the ball from Fabregas and proceeds to run towards goal before lashing a shot across the face and wide from a tricky angle.

Drogba lurks at the near post and looks to convert a Willian cross but Morgan is alert to the danger and turns the ball away for a corner which Leicester eventually clear.

Chelsea have been dominant since the restart but Leicester try to launch an attack of their own. De Laet's pass is overhit, however, and Ulloa fails to collect.

Chelsea turning the screw now as Drogba fires over from a Fabregas pass before the Spaniard fails to connect with a dangerous whipped cross from Willian that De Laet could not clear.

Just two minutes into the second half and Chelsea are level as Drogba recovers quickly to beat De Laet to an Ivanovic cross and send a right-footed effort past the despairing dive of Schmeichel.

Good interplay between Willian and Hazard on the right-hand touchline in the build-up to that equaliser, with the latter chipping a delightful pass through to the onrushing Ivanovic.

Goal: Leicester 1-1 Chelsea (Didier Drogba)

A painful one for Drogba as he limps away sheepishly following a battle with Morgan.

The teams are back out and we are underway once more. Can Chelsea find a reaction to that late first-half blow?

The half-time whistle sounds and chants of 'we are staying up' ring around the ground.

Are Leicester about to secure a fifth successive win and slightly delay Chelsea's title party?

Half-time

Leicester 1-0 Chelsea

Leicester take the lead in first-half stoppage time as a break engineered by Drinkwater leads to Vardy playing a low ball across the box.

The usually consistent Azpilicueta slips at the vital moment and Ulloa leaves the ball for Albrighton who drives it home.

Not a bad time for the 25-year-old to notch his first goal for the club...

Goal: Leicester 1-0 Chelsea (Marc Albrighton)

Hazard now back on his feet, to the relief of the travelling supporters.

Hazard easily gets past Ulloa before a firm tackle from Cambiasso leaves the fleet-footed Belgian in a crumpled heap. Mourinho not happy, but it looked fair enough.

Best chance of the first half for either side as Konchesky makes contact with a long cross from Albrighton and forces a diving save from Cech who pushes the ball against his near post.

Cambiasso has a chance to prod home in the ensuing scramble but his touch is heavy and he chooses instead to set up Albrighton whose own shot is blocked by Cahill.

A real let off for Chelsea.

After receiving possession from Cambiasso, Drinkwater takes a touch to set himself before lashing a shot over the bar from distance.

Ulloa down and grimacing following an innocuous coming together with Ivanovic.

A reckless and late sliding challenge from Paul Konchesky on Ramires brings a deserved yellow card for the Leicester full-back. Schmeichel comfortably claims the resulting free-kick.

35 minutes gone at the King Power and neither Cech nor Schmeichel have had a save to make.

Ulloa, back in his own box to defend a Chelsea corner, makes a crucial headed intervention as Fabregas looks to pick out the run of Ivanovic.

Willian feeds Drogba who fires well wide of Schmeichel's left-hand post. Marc Albrighton then produces a dangerous cross for Leicester, but Chelsea clear their lines.

Branislav Ivanovic complains to Clattenburg that he was being held prior to making contact with a corner from Fabregas and Drogba miscontrols the rebound.

Sensing an opportunity to break, Danny Drinkwater sends a lofted ball forward towards the run of Vardy but Cesar Azpilicueta is composed as he cuts out the danger.

Injuries are threatening to derail Leicester's promising start here. Huth signals to goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to boot the ball out of play and the Stoke loanee then proceeds to limp off as Richie de Laet takes his place. Pearson now reduced to just one substitute with 65 minutes left to play.

It seems Huth sustained the problem while tussling with Gary Cahill and Nemanja Matic at a corner.

A sad way for the Welsh midfielder to end his 300th appearance for the Foxes.

King's teammates do not appear unduly affected by the early change, however, and Morgan heads wide from a corner after Cech is forced to come tearing out of his area to deal with a loose ball.

Robert Huth is now receiving treatment from the Leicester physio.

Not wishing to be outshone, Hazard produces a wonderful ball into the box for Cesc Fabregas but the Spaniard's subsequent pass is turned behind by Wes Morgan for a corner.

A blow for Leicester as King goes down after just 18 minutes with an injury and is replaced by Matty James.

You get the feeling that Champions League winner Cambiasso is going to be pivotal to Leicester's chances of securing an upset tonight.

At the other end, Willian leads a Chelsea break and cuts back to Drogba who makes a hash of his shot which is easily cleared from the edge of the box.

The lively Vardy hits the first shot in anger, yet the former Fleetwood striker watches the ball fly well over the crossbar.

Leicester have started very well here and miss another chance to test Cech as a poor first touch from Leonardo Ulloa fails to do adequate justice to a superb lofted left-footed pass from the influential Esteban Cambiasso.

A lot of early possession for Leicester but Chelsea have the potential to cause a lot of damage on the counter as the flag goes up against Drogba.

Vardy is just unable to connect with a sweeping cross from the right.

The rain is falling heavily as Jamie Vardy looks to break clear down the right-hand channel but is adjudged to have strayed offside. A good atmosphere building in the early minutes.

Referee Mark Clattenburg blows his whistle and we are underway. Chelsea wearing their changed yellow strip.

Despite boasting a 10-point lead over Manchester City and Arsenal, Chelsea were dubbed 'boring' by frustrated home supporters during their dull draw at the Emirates last time out.

Both Mourinho and John Terry were predictably quick to refute those claims, however, and the latter in particular earned plaudits for an accomplished display in the heart of defence.

Just over five minutes until kick-off.

To put Leicester's recent run into context, they had won just four of their previous 29 games before a late Andy King goal against West Ham on 4 April inspired a strong sequence of results.

Their last win, which came against Burnley at Turf Moor, was notably scrappy but Jamie Vardy's goaline effort was enough to secure victory after Matt Taylor had hit the post with a penalty.

The previous fixture between these two clubs came in August, when second-half goals from Costa and Eden Hazard kept Chelsea at the summit of the Premier League after just two games.

Leicester caused their fair share of problems before the break that day, yet a lack of cutting edge - most notably from David Nugent - condemned them to a slightly unlucky defeat.

Not the greatest of omens for Leicester, there. Cech is widely expected to depart Stamford Bridge this summer after more than a decade of service and a good performance this evening would surely serve to increase the interest in his signature from across the continent.

Young Nathan Ake features among the Chelsea substitutes after impressing during a short loan spell with Championship outfit Reading.

Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric is on the bench for Leicester and spoke again earlier this week of his reasoning behind his decision to reject tonight's opponents during the January transfer window.

Here's an excerpt from what he told Croatian daily Vecernji List:

I never had a chance to meet Mourinho, it is true there was an option for me to join Chelsea.

It wasn't an easy decision for me, but after I heard I was supposed to go on loan somewhere outside England, I rejected Chelsea and chose Leicester because I wanted to feel real football, I wanted to play in Premier League.

Pearson was angered at suggestions that he could choose to field a slightly weakened side tonight with key matches against several relegation rivals on the horizon and has stuck to his word by resisting the urge to make a single change to his lineup.

Loic Remy remains absent for Chelsea tonight, so Didier Drogba starts as the lone striker with Diego Costa still not risked as he continues to recover from the latest recurrence of a long-standing hamstring problem.

Oscar makes way for the Ivorian after being taken to hospital last week following a sickening collision with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina during the 0-0 draw in North London, while Petr Cech comes in for Thibaut Courtois in goal.

Chelsea team to face Leicester: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta, Ramires, Matic, Willian, Fabregas, Hazard, Drogba

Subs: Courtois, Filipe Luis, Zouma, Ake, Mikel, Oscar, Cuadrado

Leicester team to face Chelsea: Schmeichel, Wasilewski, Huth, Morgan (c), Albrighton, King, Cambiasso, Drinkwater, Konchesky, Vardy, Ulloa

Subs: Schwarzer, De Laet, Hammond, James, Mahrez, Wood, Kramaric

Good evening and welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of tonight's Premier League clash between Leicester City and Chelsea at the King Power Stadium in what is a significant fixture for both sides.

Having previously seemed resigned to relegation at the foot of the Premier League, the hosts have been resurgent in recent weeks and a remarkable run of four consecutive victories has lifted them out of the relegation zone to 17<sup>th.

While Nigel Pearson's side have arguably more important matches to come against the likes of Newcastle, Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland between now and the end of the season, another positive result here would only serve to increase the sense of belief among players and supporters alike that survival is now a very realistic aim.

For champions elect Chelsea, meanwhile, a win in the East Midlands tonight would move them to within three points of their first top-flight title since 2010.

Breaking team news and updates to follow....