Leicester City travel to the Bet365 Stadium as they aim to resurrect their Premier League form and try to recover from the disastrous start they have had. And what will be worrying for them is the fact that they have continued to struggle even after the new players have had ample time to settle down. We are almost halfway through the season and the defending champions are on a run which has seen them win only 1 of their last 5 matches. Ranieri will most likely make quite a few changes and it’s exactly what the team needs right now.
Stoke City, on the other hand, made a worse start than the Foxes but have recovered to an extent. After losing 4 of their first 5 games, they recovered their form and have lost only 2 in their last 11. Both teams will go into the match with hopes of a victory.
TRIVIA
- Stoke are yet to win a Premier League home game versus Leicester (W0 D1 L1) – the only side they have faced more than once at home in the competition but not won against.
- Leicester have only conceded three goals in their last five league meetings with Stoke City.
- Jamie Vardy scored in both Premier League meetings with Stoke City last season.
- Jamie Vardy has scored just one goal in his last nine Premier League appearances away from home (v Liverpool in September).
- Bojan has scored the first goal of the game in both of his last two Premier League appearances against Leicester City.
- The Potters have conceded just six goals in their last nine Premier League games and have kept five clean sheets in this run.
- Leicester’s return of one point from their first eight away games of the season is the lowest total by a defending top-flight champion.
STOKE CITY
TEAM NEWS
Mark Hughes will have a lot of players missing due to injuries and suspension which has been a recurring theme for him also. He hasn’t been able to settle on a fixed formation or a set of personnel and that seems to have hurt them.
Stephen Ireland and Ibrahim Afellay are both ruled out of the match due to their broken leg and knee injury, respectively.
Stoke City will also be without the likes of Phil Bardsley, Geoff Cameron, and Jack Butland because of their injuries.
Marko Arnautovic will miss 3 games after getting a straight red.
PREDICTED LINE-UP (4-2-3-1)
Grant – Peters, Johnson, Shawcross, Martins Indi – Whelan, Adam – Shaqiri, Allen, Diouf – Walters
LEICESTER CITY
TEAM NEWS
Kasper Schmeichel hasn’t fully recovered from his broken hand, and he remains doubtful for Saturday’s clash against Stoke. Danny Drinkwater might miss the match after being out of the last match with a knee injury.
PREDICTED LINE-UP (4-4-2)
Zieler – Huth, Morgan, Fuchs, Simpson – King, Mahrez, Albrighton, Amartey – Vardy, Slimani
BETTING ODDS
STOKE CITY- 8/5
DRAW- 12/5
LEICESTER CITY- 19/10
