Leicester City vs Chelsea: Jose Mourinho tips 'quality' Foxes to stay up in the Premier League

The Blues need just five points to lift the Premier League title

(Getty)

Chelsea manager and mind games extraordinaire Jose Mourinho has stoked the fire before the meeting with Leicester City by insisting the Foxes will be playing in the Premier League next season.

The Portuguese boss has one hand on the title, needing just five points, and admits he was bemused by the Foxes' poor form earlier in the campaign. Nigel Pearson's men had been bottom for 140 days and seemed destined for relegation.

"I was surprised by their bad position," he said. "But I am not surprised they are out of the relegation zone now and I will not be surprised when they stay in the division.

"We played them very early in the season at Stamford Bridge (a 2-0 win for Chelsea) and I immediately saw the quality of the team."

Leicester have freed themselves from the confines of the bottom three after winning four top flight matches on the bounce. The last time the Foxes managed that feat, England were world champions in 1966.

Although City boss Pearson remains understandably wary that careless talk costs points, Mourinho said Leicester have a superior squad to their relegation rivals.

"I think that, yes," he added. "They have lots of players, that squad is a good squad.

"You look at them and they have two players for every position, starting with the goalkeeper and finishing in the striker position.

"I think their situation is very good. They have options in every position, more home games than away games, and they play the teams in the same area as them in the table.

"Chelsea is an extra game for them, so their situation is very good. For the quality of that team, I think they are going to survive."