LEICESTER - SWANSEA
Leicester 4 - 0 Swansea - As it happened! Premier League week 35
Leicester shooed the Swans away, scoring four in another step towards a remarkable title-winning season. See how it happened here.
Leicester 4 - 0 Swansea
Nerves? Doubts? Jitters? Nope. None of that for Premier League leaders Leicester City as they continue to make the near-impossible look oh so simple. Ulloa ably deputised for the suspended Jamie Vardy, scoring two, but it was one of Leicester's many revelations Mahrez who opened the scoring.
It never looked in doubt from then on, really, Swansea threatened in the first half, but were a shambles at the back and Leicester ran out easy 4-0 winners in the end.
How it happened:
Min 94 | And that's it! One more step towards glory for Ranieri's runaway train. Four goals without Jamie Vardy reflected Leicester's clear superiority over Swansea.
Min 93 | Leicester have Manchester United, West Ham and Chelsea left to play in this sparkling season.
Min 92 | 1 min left...
Min 88 | Leicester playing the ball around, the King Power cheering on every pass. What a season they've watched!
Min 84 | Stunning burst of pace and excellent cross from Gray, the header missed at the back post rolled back to Albrighton who made no mistake finishing high. Nerves from Leicester? No chance!
Min 84 | Albrighton!! It's 4!
Min 80 | Should be 4! Leicester again streak through, but again can't finish, from two opportunities as Ki gives it back to them! Swansea a shambles here.
Min 78 | Rare moment of danger for Leicester, Ayew all alone at the back post from the corner but can't put the header on target. Should have scored.
Min 76 | Change too for Swansea, Ki Sung-yueng on for Sigurdsson, a sign that Swansea have given up the ghost here.
Min 74 | England Under-20 international Demarai Gray is on for Leicester, Ranieri seizing the opportunity to rest players and give youth a chance.
Min 71 | Now it's captain Williams into the book for hauling Drinkwater back.
Min 68 | It's all Leicester here, Swansea have completely fallen apart.
Min 64 | Uyyyyyyyy... Schlupp close to making it 4, Fabianski sprawls to his left and beats it out.. Then gets up to berate his defence .. They deserve it.
Min 64 | Fernandez into the book for cleaning Mahrez out, a challenge made in frustration. Fuchs curls it... Wide.
Min 60 | Schlupp clean through, caught between passing to Ulloa or shooting he dallies, his shot bounces up off the keeper giving him another chance to square to Ulloa who slides it in at the back post. The Swansea defence didn't exactly cover itself in glory there.
Min 60 | GOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooll!! Leicester 3 - 0 Swansea!!!
Min 58 | Sigurdsson tries to pick a way through the blue backline, but Schmeichel too clever for that, he humps it away.
Min 55 | If Leicester hold on here, they'll need just 5 points to win the Premier League. Still mind-boggling what this team has achieved.
Min 51 | Drinkwater down, looks like he'll be ok, Leicester applying the pressure so far in the second half.
Min 46 | Two changes for Swansea, Leroy Fer and Routledge off, Montero and Paloschi on, Swansea hoping to turn this one 'round, Mahrez other ideas, lovely ball into space for Ulloa, but he's no Vardy, the Argentine turns and recycles possession.
Min 46 | And we're underway again at the King Power stadium, Leicester 2-0 up, can they take another step?
Peeep! And that's half time. Leicester really couldn't have hoped for much better than that! The question pre-match was whether they'd miss 22-goal man Jamie Vardy - and to say they've coped just fine without him so far would be putting it lightly. Riyad Mahrez got the Foxes off to a dream start after a gift from Ashley Williams, before Leonardo Ulloa doubled their advantage, and as things stand they're going provisionally eight points clear of Spurs in second and taking another big step towards a maiden English title.
Min 44 | Swansea have enjoyed a mini-prolonged period (if such a thing is possible) in Leicester's half - but the work the Foxes do to harry their visitors, snap at their heels and cut out their passes is quite something.
Miin 42 | And Sigurdsson bounces the resulting free-kick towards Schmeichel's near post from range, with the Dane taking no chances and pushing it away for a corner... Which comes to nothing.
Min 41 | Taylor swings it into the box for Swansea, but that's meat and drink for this Leicester backline. Drinkwater then scythes down Ayew and seems a little fortunate to escape a booking.
According to stats man Mister Chip, Leicester City have never lost a Premier League game at home from two goals up. So it looks like it's eight points clear and over to you Spurs...
Min 33 | There's a chance for Swansea to pull one back! Sigurdsson whips a nice free-kick into the box and Fernández is first to it with his head... But he sends it over.
Min 30 | Gooooal! 2-0 to Leicester! Drinkwater flights in a free-kick from the left towards the near post, and Ulloa is there to head in past Fabianski! Jamie who?
Min 28 | Mahrez is at it again, slipping in a lovely little through ball to Okazaki to shoot, but it's blocked and is out for another corner to the hosts, from which Fuchs eventually volleys towards goal - but it's saved.
Min 27 | Mahrez wins a corner, but it could have been even more: the Algerian advanced into the right-hand side of the box, took on Taylor - but saw his attempt to fire it torwards goal deflected out.
Min 23 | Leicester on the attack again as Morgan finds Schlupp on the corner of the area, and the Ghanaian loops a threatening ball up to the back stick, where Fabianski holds on.
Min 20 | Fuchs crosses dangerously from the left, but it's headed away. Eminently watchable game so far.
Min 16 | Swansea looking to respond as Sigurdsson fires in a low, left-wing cross, which is dealt with by the Leicester backline.
Min 15 | Routledge feeds Sigurdsson on the edge of the area and the Icelander's shot is blocked away for a corner, which comes to nought.
Min 14 | Ufff! Sigurdsson swings over the right-wing free-kick and Fernández heads just over... But it wouldn't have counted anyway as he was offside.
What a gift. And from Williams of all people.
Min 10 | Goooooal! Riyad Mahrez! The Algerian cuts out Ashley William's casual pass out from the back, runs in on Fabianski and finishes low at the Pole's near post! What a start for the Foxes!
Min 7 | It's been a bright start from the Swans against a home side that will have to show it can cope without their main man up front, Jamie Vardy.
Min 1 | Routledge's cross evades Ayew... And kudos to the groundsman for the pitch markings, by the way.
Peeeep! Underway at the King Power Stadium!
The teams are out!
Leicester City XI: Schmeichel, Simpson, Huth, Morgan (c), Fuchs, Mahrez, Kanté, Drinkwater, Schlupp, Okazaki, Ulloa
Swansea City XI: Fabianski, Rangel, Fernandez, Williams (c), Taylor, Britton, Fer, Cork, Sigurdsson, Routledge, Ayew
Preview:
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of this afternoon's 17:15 CEST Premier League kick-off as title-chasing Leicester City host a Swansea City team now all but safe from the drop.
Leicester's dramatic 2-2 draw at West Ham United last Sunday allowed top-of-the-table rivals Tottenham Hotspur to cut their lead from seven points to five - and left the Foxes without 22-goal striker Jamie vardy, who is to serve at least a one-match ban after seeing red at Upton Park.
However, Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri is confident his side can cope without Vardy as, with just four games to go, they aim to take another step towards a fairtytale first-ever English championship. "I think I have 24 stars," Ranieri explained. "I have 24 Caesars - that is our strength. There isn't one Caesar but there are the other 23."
And today's clash will be an all-Italian affair in the duouts, as Ranieri's countryman Francesco Guidolin leads his Swansea charges to the King Power Stadium.
Ranieri and Guidolin have played and coached against one another on a number of occasions in their native country, and the Swans boss admitted pre-match that he is rooting for his compatriot to clinch the title.
But he also stressed that such sentiments will be on hold for the next 90 minutes, as the visitors seek to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United last time out.
"This is a new situation for Claudio and I hope for him that Leicester can win the title because they deserve to," said Guidolin. "I will give Claudio one of my favourite wines, a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, but my job is to see my team play well and fight against the first team in the table."
Since taking over in January with the club threatened by relegation, five wins from 12 league games have enabled Guidolin steer the side to the 40-point mark widely considered as synonymous with Premier League survival.
And victory at Leicester would nigh-on secure Swansea's top-flight status after Sunderland's draw with Arsenal left the Black Cats, in 17th, and 18th-placed Norwich City only able to equal the Swans' total and with a much inferior goal difference.
Joins us for the build-up and all the action!