Leicester City vs Southampton
Date: 12/01/2019
K/O: 15:00
Venue: King Power Stadium
Referee: Michael Oliver
The King Power Stadium plays host to Southampton this weekend as Leicester aim to bounce back after their shock defeat at the hands of Newport County in last weekend’s FA Cup third round.
Despite their unsatisfying result in Wales, the Foxes have been on the up in the league and enjoyed a rather miraculous Christmas period as they recorded wins over Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton.
They are currently the ‘best of the rest’ and Claude Puel will be satisfied with his sides courageous league performances as of late. As for Southampton, Hasenhuttl has had a rather mixed introduction to the Premier League with two wins, two losses and a draw. The draw did come last time out in the league vs Chelsea and the Saints will be confident they can pick up another away result to continue their fight for survival.
Despite still sitting in the relegation zone, Southampton have shown promise under their new boss and will be confident they can put a run together to draw clear of the drop zone. After their trip to the King Power, they face three homes matches in the next four and face both Burnley and Cardiff – two teams fighting alongside the Saints for survival. Hasenhuttl will no doubt already have his mind on these games and view them as key fixtures in their fight against the drop.
Head to Head: Southampton have the better record when coming up against Leicester as they slightly edge the win column by 32 to Leicester’s 28. The clubs have shared 28 draws yet the Saints have only been victorious on two occasions in the last 10 meetings between the clubs with Leicester victorious on five.
Team News
Leicester City: Claude Puel is blessed with a clean bill of health ahead of this one and a return to a similar side which beat Everton on New Year’s Day is very much expected. Both Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan started the match in Wales and either or will be chosen to play alongside Harry Maguire. The former’s performance in Merseyside earnt him the MOTM honour but Morgan’s captain spirit may be preferred.
Ndidi and Mendy will return to the centre of the park sitting behind a likely three of Albrighton, Maddison and Gray. After his goal at Goodison Park, Jamie Vardy will be back leading the line after a week off during the cup. The only absentee for the Foxes continues to be Daniel Amartey who continues to recover from injury.
Southampton: Ralph Hasenhuttl has a lengthy injury list to deal with and also has a headache over his goalkeeping situation too. Angus Gunn has been handed the gloves in the Saints last two fixtures and he impressed at Stamford Bridge keeping a clean sheet in the last Premier League game week. The youngster has performed well to keep Alex McCarthy out of the side and I expect he will be present once more in the East Midlands.
Danny Ings and Michael Obafemi both remain unavailable suffering with hamstring and tendon injuries while the fixture may be too soon for Ryan Bertrand who despite recently returning to training, will unlikely be match-fit. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg remains suspended while Maya Yoshida has departed for the Asian Cup; Manolo Gabbiadini will also miss the fixture with the strikers transfer to Sampdoria all but sealed.
Charlie Austin completes the list of absentee strikers as he was handed a two-game back for his abusive gesture display in the loss vs Manchester City. Therefore, Shane Long is Hasenhuttl’s only major choice to lead the line. Stuart Armstrong is a doubt due to an ankle injury but could be fit enough to feature while reports suggest Mario Lemina is suffering from an abdomen injury and looks to be sidelined.
Predicted Starting XI’s
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell; Ndidi, Mendy; Albrighton, Maddison, Gray; Vardy
Southampton (3-4-2-1): Gunn; Bednarek, Stephens, Vestergaard; Valery, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Targett; Redmond, Armstrong; Long
Score Prediction: Leicester City 2 Southampton 1
Both sides have a lot to prove in this one and the Foxes will be desperate to bounce back from their humiliating defeat. The King Power has not exactly been a fortress for Leicester this season and Southampton will take pleasure from that and will look to unsettle the hosts from the off. Yet taking Southampton’s length injury list into consideration, I think Leicester will slightly edge this one.
