Premier League champions Leicester host league leaders Chelsea this evening (5.30pm kick-off) looking to stretch their unbeaten run to four matches.

Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes have struggled in defence of the title they won so incredibly last season, but recent results and performances suggest that a better second half of the season is to come for the champions.

They beat West Ham 1-0 on New Year’s Eve before drawing 0-0 at Middlesbrough on January 2, and then produced an excellent second half effort to come from behind to beat Everton 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Leicester have a fourth round clash with Midlands rivals Derby County to look forward to in a few weeks’ time, but before that they have important league games against Chelsea and Southampton to contend with.

The first of which is today as Antonio Conte’s Blues visit the King Power Stadium looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.

Conte’s men lost 2-0 at Tottenham in their last league outing, but did beat Peterborough 4-1 last weekend to reach round four of the FA Cup.

Nonetheless, they’ll find it tough away at Leicester this evening, who have lost just twice at home this season, and here are THREE reasons why the Foxes will get all three points tonight…

Solid home form

Despite Leicester sitting 15th in the Premier League table, their form at the King Power Stadium this season has been pretty good.

The Foxes have won five and drawn three of their ten league games at home, with West Brom and Everton the only sides to leave the King Power with all three points.

Not only that, but they beat Manchester City 4-2 back on December 10, and took a point off Arsenal at home right at the start of the campaign.

The Foxes are a different animal at home, and have proven that they can mix it with the top sides at the King Power Stadium this season – that will give them great confidence going into a meeting with the league leaders this evening.

Vardy set to return

Jamie Vardy has served his three-game suspension for his red card in Leicester’s 2-2 draw at Stoke on December 17, and will almost certainly be brought back into the side against Chelsea.

The England international was sent off for a two-footed tackle on Mame Diouf, a decision many thought was unfair and would likely be overturned by the FA, but it wasn’t, and Vardy has since missed the defeat to Everton, the win over West Ham, and the draw at Middlesbrough.

Nonetheless, the 30-year-old will be raring to go at a Chelsea defence that showed its first signs of vulnerabilities against Tottenham last week, with Vardy likely targeting Gary Cahill’s lack of pace and David Luiz’s past ill-discipline as a way of getting the better of them.

Vardy could be a real asset to Leicester this evening, and his return to the side will also give the club a massive boost going into the next few weeks.

Improving signs in recent weeks

It hasn’t been a great title defence from the Foxes, but there have been signs in recent weeks that they are beginning to rediscover some form.

They brilliantly beat Manchester City 4-2 on December 10 in what many felt was the Leicester of last season on show, before meekly losing 1-0 at Bournemouth.

A spirited effort to come back from 2-0 and a man down to draw at Stoke was superb, but they again found it difficult to back that up, losing 2-0 at home to Everton.

However, they then beat West Ham on New Year’s Eve before managing a draw at Middlesbrough on January 2, and then they defeated Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup last weekend.

You sense that, despite it being a case of one step forward, one step back for much of the season, they have found something in those last three games, and the confidence they’ll get from two wins and a draw will give them a real boost ahead of the visit of Chelsea this evening.

It’s only a small unbeaten run, but it could lay the foundations for a much-improved second half of the season.