Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion
The King Power Stadium will be painted blue since Leicester City get to host Brighton & Hove Albion as part of the Premier League quadruple-header tomorrow.
Leicester City and Brighton are coming in with contrasting objectives and a victory here will help their cause immensely.
For the Foxes, they are keen to continue their top four status in the English top-flight and they have dreams of moving further up into the standings.
The Brendan Rodgers-managed club currently has 21 points, which is four points adrift to league leaders Tottenham and defending champions Liverpool.
On the flip side, Brighton are four points clear from the drop zone placing 16th. The Seagulls are in search for their rhythm as they have yet to win since November 21.
Their recent performances are a good indicator that better things are coming, but earning the three points here is a whole different story.
Can the Foxes assert their might over the Seagulls? Or will Brighton finally break through and give themselves a nice little gift just before the holidays?
Take a look at this preview courtesy of SBOTOP.
Talking Points
Leicester City aim to hold on to a top four spot
The Foxes can now fully turn their focus to the Premier League as they were able to clinch their berth in the Europa League Final 16.
Leicester City won 2-0 against AEK Athens last Friday evening, as Cengiz Under and Harvey Barnes each found the back of the net.
Prior to the said match, Leicester City’s form has been shaky as they were coming off of tough losses against Liverpool and Fulham.
So when they were able to secure their place in the Europa League Final 16 without needing to rely heavily on Jamie Vardy’s heroics, suddenly momentum is on their side heading into this contest.
Brendan Rodgers is expected to maintain his usual starting XI, albeit with some minor revisions.
Jamie Vardy is a go to lead out front, while James Maddison might return after suffering a knee injury before and Ayoze Perez should keep his place in the final third.
Since Cengiz Under impressed during their last few games, he is also expected to feature in the middle alongside Harvey Barnes.
Leicester City would be wary of placing heavy minutes for Wilfred Ndidi, who played big in the last time out, as he suffered an adductor injury few months ago.
Brighton searching for their wings
The Seagulls have yet to fully take off this term, and they are hopeful that their recent performances will give them confidence to move up to the table.
Brighton returned to the win column last November when they defeated Aston Villa, 2-1, despite being reduced to 10 men. And then they followed it up with a draw against Liverpool before eventually losing to Southampton.
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Daniel Welbeck scores his first goal of the season against Aston Villa
Danny Welbeck has been a bright spot since team manager Graham Potter inserted him into the starting lineup alongside Neal Maupay as he finally made his way into the Premier League 2020 highlights reel.
But for Brighton to improve on their form, Welbeck may require his teammates to provide additional assistance particularly at the attacking front.
The Seagulls will get a big boost upon the return of playmaker Alexis Mac Allister, while a combination of an in-form Pascal Gross and a fully-fit Leandro Trossard will do wonders as well.
History
Leicester City have the edge over Brighton especially in their last 15 encounters together.
The Foxes have won seven games, whereas the Seagulls won in four along with four draws.
These two sides last faced each other last June to where they ended with a goalless draw. Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho, James Maddison, and Neal Maupay had their chances, but none of them were able to convert.
Brighton have won just one of their last eight road matches against Leicester City in all competitions (D3, L4), and their last away win dates back to 2014 where they won in a Championship fixture.
Betting Tip
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Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion | Leicester City Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 1.77 |
| December 14, 03:15 (GMT+8) |
With recent history favouring the hosts, on the surface, they are expected to cruise to a comfortable victory this week.
But the Premier League 2020 odds point to a highly-contested affair as Leicester City are backed to win at 2.02, while Brighton are not far behind at 3.65 and a draw is pegged at 3.30 in the 1×2 market.
There’s a sliver of opportunity for Brighton to take advantage of Leicester City’s rustiness since some of their key players were rested in the last time out.
Nonetheless, I still expect Brendan Rodgers’ side to take care of business at home, although it may come in thrilling fashion via a late goal.
Both are expected to score at a decent amount of goals, so you may also fancy going for Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.84 or Over 2.50 @ 2.25.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post Premier League: Can the Seagulls Fly High Over the Foxes? appeared first on SBOTOP.