Kante misses out on Chelsea and Leicester FA Cup final combined XI
Chelsea face Leicester in Saturday's FA Cup final with the capital club looking to win the competition for the ninth time, while victory for Leicester would be their first.
Thomas Tuchel has changed the fortunes of Chelsea completely since his arrival at the start of the year and this season could yet finish with the club winning the FA Cup and Champions League.
After failing to win any of his first 15 matches against Chelsea, across spells with Watford, Swansea and Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers did at least oversee a Leicester win in the last meeting between the two clubs, in what proved Frank Lampard's final league game in charge of the Blues.
In the build-up to Saturday's show-piece event, we have used performances from their Premier League and FA Cup campaigns to build an ultimate combined XI based on starts alone (15+).
There are big talking points right the way through the side. Kai Havertz and Timo Werner have come good of late but their inconsistent campaign on the whole has cost them a place in the side, while Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva have played key roles at the back for Chelsea but miss out to more-proactive defenders like Wesley Fofana and Kurt Zouma.
N'Golo Kante and Wilfred Ndidi is certainly going to be a midfield battle to savour but there is only a place in the combined XI for one and the former misses out. Kante is of course one of the best in the business in that position but has only really started playing well again under Tuchel after an injury-hit start to the season.
Youri Tielemans has arguably been Leicester's player of the season thus far, with Mason Mount surely the frontrunner to land Chelsea's end of season award. Both complete a midfield three in our combined XI either side of Ndidi.
Kelechi Iheanacho has been a revelation for Leicester in recent months and is even out-performing club legend Jamie Vardy. The former Manchester City striker is the top scorer in domestic competitions this season between the two clubs, with all 15 of those goals falling in 2021.
