Leicester City will play hosts to Sheffield United at the King Power Stadium on Thursday evening hoping to bounce back from their 4-1 loss at the hands of Bournemouth last weekend. In contrast, the Blades emerged victorious against Chelsea with a convincing 3-0 scoreline in their previous outing which would keep them in good spirits heading into this midweek clash at the East Midlands.
Brendan Rodgers’ men will need to bag all three points if they want to retain their place in the top four while the Yorkshire outfit are also in need of a victory as they aim to clinch a UEFA Europa League spot for next season.
Talking Tactics
Rodgers will opt for a 3-4-1-2 formation and might be forced to bring Wes Morgan back to his first-team for this league clash at home. He will instruct his players to maintain a high line and control possession during the game so that they can create some clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities for Jamie Vardy up top.
Chris Wilder will go with a 3-5-2 set-up as his boys look to battle for every loose possession and make life difficult for the home side. The Blades will look to threaten on the counter using their dynamic strikers, Oli McBurnie and David McGoldrick.
Team News
Leicester City
Marc Albrighton is a slight doubt for this game while both James Maddison and Ben Chilwell are unlikely to recover in time as well. Caglar Soyuncu will be unavailable for selection due to suspension after had he received a red card versus the Cherries last weekend.
Leicester City Predicted XI
Schmeichel, Morgan, Evans, Bennett, Justin, Ndidi, Tielemans, Fuchs, Perez, Iheanacho, Vardy
Sheffield United
Both Chris Basham (head) and John Fleck (groin) are significant concerns for this game. However, Phil Jagielka should be fit to start for the Blades later this week if required.
Sheffield United Predicted XI
Henderson, Jagielka, Egan, O’Connell, Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Osborn, Stevens, McBurnie, McGoldrick
Key Men
Leicester City
Jamie Vardy will be the home team’s main man up top. He is currently leading the Premier League’s golden boot race and will be desperate to get his name on the scoresheet. Jonny Evans and Ryan Bennett will also need to defend well if the Foxes are to come away with a positive result in midweek.
Sheffield United
Oli McBurnie and David McGoldrick were in fine form versus Chelsea last weekend. Hence, they will carry most of the goal-scoring workload up top. The performance of George Baldock and Enda Stevens could also be crucial in determining whether the Blades can create enough chances to win this game.
Odds
The bookmakers have made the Foxes the slight favourites to emerge victorious at the King Power after they were priced at 21/20. The draw has been listed as 9/4 while the Blades are 29/10 underdogs to pull off an upset on Thursday.
