Leicester City VS Arsenal, fancy home to overcome the Gunners

Match Time：2/28/2021 20:00 Sunday  (GMT+8)

English Premier League --  Leicester City   VS   Arsenal

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English  One of the standout fixtures in the next round of Premier League action will take place at the King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Leicester City welcome Arsenal.  

 

Leicester are currently third in the Premier League table, level on points with second-placed Manchester United, while Arsenal sit down in 11th spot, 11 points behind fourth-placed West Ham United.  

 

Match preview 

Leicester are very much in the mix for a top-four finish in this season's Premier League, with the Foxes picking up 49 points from their 25 matches to occupy third spot in the table, level on points with second-placed Man United and six clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, meaning that they have a nice cushion at this stage.   

 

Brendan Rodgers's side have picked up 10 points from their last four league matches, including back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Aston Villa, but they will enter this game off the back of a disappointing 2-0 loss to Slavia Prague in the second leg of their last-32 Europa League clash on Thursday night.  

 

Leicester's European journey for the 2020-21 campaign has finished, but they are still in the FA Cup - taking on Man United in the quarter-finals of the competition on March 21 - and have plenty to play for in the league as they bid to secure a return to the Champions League for the 2021-22 season.  

 

Rodgers's side have been excellent on their travels this term, boasting the second-best away record in England's top flight, but they have lost five of their 12 league fixtures at the King Power Stadium and will certainly be wary of an Arsenal team that are full of talent despite their struggles.  

 

Leicester have not lost to the Gunners in England's top flight since October 2018, though, and recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams locked horns in the reverse match at the Emirates Stadium in October.   

 

Arsenal also looked to be heading out of the Europa League on Thursday as they trailed Benfica 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate just past the hour of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.  

 

Kieran Tierney scored in the 67th minute, though, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted the decisive goal in the 87th minute, which saw Mikel Arteta's side advance to the round of 16, where they will face Olympiacos.  

 

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a desperately disappointing league campaign for the club once again, though, and their poor form continued last weekend as they suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City, making it just three points from their last four fixtures in England's top flight.  

 

A total of 34 points from 25 matches has left them down in 11th position in the table, 11 points off the top four and actually only four points clear of Southampton in 14th, which is an indication of their struggles.  

 

Arsenal's away form this season has also been disappointing, losing six of their 12 league fixtures on their travels, and another poor result on Sunday would leave them in a vulnerable position ahead of a run which includes games against Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Liverpool.  

 

Leicester City Premier League form: DLWDWW 

Leicester City form (all competitions): DWWDWL  

Arsenal Premier League form: WDLLWL 

Arsenal form (all competitions): LLWDLW    

 

Team News  

Leicester will again be without the services of James Justin, James Maddison, Ayoze Perez, Wesley Fofana, Dennis Praet and Wes Morgan for this weekend's contest at the King Power Stadium.  

 

The Foxes did not pick up any fresh concerns in the Europa League on Thursday, but Rodgers is expected to make changes from the clash with Slavia Prague.  

 

Ricardo Pereira, Timothy Castagne and Harvey Barnes will all definitely be back in the side, while there could also be a position in the middle of the park for Nampalys Mendy, who replaced Maddison off the bench against Villa last weekend.  

 

As for Arsenal, Rob Holding missed out against Benfica on Thursday due to the concussion protocols, but the centre-back is expected to be available for selection here.  

 

The Gunners are otherwise at full strength in terms of their first-team squad, and it will be fascinating to see Arteta's thinking after the Europa League contest last time out.  

 

Thomas Partey featured off the bench against Benfica and could now come into the XI, but Arteta is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack, meaning that Willian and Alexandre Lacazette should remain on the bench, with Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe retaining their spots.  

 

Leicester City possible starting lineup: 

Schmeichel; Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Castagne; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Mendy, Barnes; Vardy  

 

Arsenal possible starting lineup: 

Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Thomas, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Aubameyang    

 

Leicester City 2-1 Arsenal