Antonio Conte calls on Chelsea defence to work as a unit to stop 'clever' Jamie Vardy

Antonio Conte admits his Chelsea team must defend well as a unit to stop "clever" Jamie Vardy from scoring when the Blues take on Leicester in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Vardy has scored 16 goals in all competitions for the Foxes this season, including in their last game which was a 4-1 win away to West Brom last weekend.

Conte admitted Chelsea have no special plans to try and stop Vardy from having an impact when the Blues play Leicester in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at the King Power Stadium, but that his side must defend well as a unit to have any chance of progressing to the next round.

"Special plans? Special plans to try to defend well," Conte told reporters on Friday. "For sure we all know the characteristics about Vardy. He's very, he's a clever player. He's very good to attack the space, to find the right time to attack the space.

"[But we must] Also pay attention to [Shinji] Okazaki."

The FA Cup is now the only trophy Chelsea can hope to win this season after the Blues were dumped out of the Champions League by Barcelona on Wednesday night.

The reigning Premier League champions must also try and secure a top-four spot, having fallen into fifth place recently - with the Blues currently sitting four points off Liverpool.

But Conte insisted that winning the FA Cup is just as important to him as securing a spot in the Champions League for next season.

"I think we have to try to do both. To try to go to the next round and to reach the semi-final in the FA Cup it won't be easy," he said.

"Leicester is a good team. In the last game we played at home we suffered against them. Then to try to do our best also in the league, to find a place in the Champions League. It won't be easy.

"I think we're talking about a team [Leicester] that two years ago won the title. In the squad there are many players with good qualities, talented players for me. They want to fight a lot.

"In the game we played at home we suffered a lot. They put a lot of pressure, run a lot. Also they have players very dangerous. We must pay great attention for this risk."

The FA Cup is also the only trophy that Manchester United and Tottenham can win this season, but Conte dismissed the suggestion that that makes it harder for Chelsea to claim the trophy this term.

"To win a trophy in England is always very tough. Before to win a trophy, you must know before playing the final you have to face strong teams," he added.

"It's normal. This competition there is United, Tottenham, but also other teams. They want to go to the next round to try to write the history of this competition.