Leicester City vs Southampton: Preview and Prediction

Leicester City vs Southampton
English Premier League.
Date: Sunday, 2nd October, 2016,
Kick-off at 14:15 UK
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester.

Leicester City were dealt with their third defeat in Premier League 2016/17 as they Manchester United put on an inspired performance at the Old Trafford. The Foxes were the second best team throughout the game and the final score of 4-1 justifies it. All their three league defeats this season have come away from home, while they are unbeaten in three home games this season with 2 wins and a draw.

Southampton on the other hand have earned their second win in a row with a 3-0 margin in the away trip to West Ham. The new-look side under the management of Claude Puel went on without a win in their first four matchdays. And things are finally looking bright and the squad have started working well as a unit.

Leicester City: Team News

Nampalys Mendy is the only player missing for Claudio Ranieri as he is nursing a knee injury.

Changes are expected after their involvement in the Champions League fixture against Porto. And the likes of Demari Gray and Shinji Okazaki could get a start here.

Leicester City: Predicted Starting Line-up (4-4-2)

Schmeichel – Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs – Mahrez, Amartey, Drinkwater, Albrighton – Vardy, Slimani.

Southampton: Team News

Florin Gardos and Jeremy Pied are long term absentees for Southampton, while club record signing Sofiane Boufal is ruled out until October.

Charlie Austin, who scored 3 goals in the last three matches is expected to keep his place in the starting line-up relegation Shane Long to the substitute’s bench.

Southampton: Predicted Starting Line-up (4-3-1-2)

Forster – Bertrand, Dijk, Fonte, Soares – Davis, Romeu, Hojbjerg – Tadic – Redmond, Austin.

Leicester City vs Southampton: Head-to-Head Stats

Leicester won the corresponding fixture of last season by a 1-0 margin, while the teams drew 2-2 in the reverse fixture.

The Foxes are on a three match winning run at home against the Saints in all competitions. While Southampton have won in 2 of their 3 prior meetings to Leicester, losing once.

Only one of the last five meetings between these two sides have registered over 2.5 goals.

Leicester City vs Southampton: Prediction

Leicester despite their poor start of the season remains a strong bunch while playing in front of their home fans. Their two Premier League wins along with the mid-week Champions League win over Porto is an example of their dominance.

Things are also looking good for Claude Puel as his Southampton side are coming on the back of consecutive victories. But they haven’t fared well against Leicester at the King Power stadium in recent visits. So this could once again go down in the same route.

Correct Score: Leicester to beat Southampton 2-0 at 10/1 (11.00).