Jamie Vardy, the Football Writers’ player of the year, will play host to his Leicester City team-mates at his home as they watch Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur together on Monday evening, a match that could result in the Foxes winning the Premier League title for the first time in the club’s history.
Claudio Ranieri will not be joining the gathering, having chosen to fly home to be with his 96-year-old mother, Renata, in Italy and the Leicester manager may be among the last to know if his side – 5000-1 outsiders at the start of the season – are crowned champions owing to the timing of his flight.
Marc Albrighton confirmed the players would be coming together to watch the match, with some players, including the winger, having previously chosen to avoid watching Spurs’ efforts to catch them.
“They’ve got a tough game away at Chelsea and we’ll be watching that with a close eye on it,” he said. “I don’t think we can ignore this one. I didn’t watch last week, but I think when there is a chance to win the league, like this week, we have all got to watch it.”
Leicester’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United took them eight points clear and meant Tottenham must beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to keep the title race going. Spurs have not won at Chelsea in 28 matches spread across 26 years, when Gary Lineker scored the winner.