Leicester City vs Burnley
Date: 10/11/2018
K/O: 15:00
Venue: King Power Stadium
Referee: Graham Scott
Burnley travel to the King Power Stadium this Saturday in what is prepared to be a poignant affair as Leicester continue to mourn the loss of their beloved chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
It will be the first game at the King Power since the tragic helicopter that claimed the lives of five people, including club chairman Vichai. Leicester manager Claude Puel has been speaking this week and stated “afterwards we will not be the same men and I think we have to move on, to manage this emotion, and to keep the right way. It was a project of our chairman and it is important to continue his dream.”
Saturday’s fixture falls on Leicester’s annual remembrance Sunday fixture and this will no doubt be included in the matchday plans. In a thoughtful touch, during the first half Leicester players will wear a special shirt with the former owner’s name embroidered on while in the second half they will wear shirts commemorating the poppy.
Several Leicester players did fly out to Thailand after last week’s 1-0 victory over Cardiff to pay further respects to one of their own but have since returned to turn their focus on Saturday’s clash. It will, without doubt, be a day filled with emotion and reflection in the East Midlands as supporters will receive scares, pin badges, clap banners, and special match day programs as commemorative gifts from the club. It is believed that Srivaddhanaprabha’s son Aiyawatt, who is vice-chairman of the Leicester squad, is planning on being at the game Saturday and a special tribute to his late father will be shown on the big screen in the stadium prior to kick-off.
As for Saturday’s visitors, they are a side in poor form. In their last four fixtures, the Clarets have shipped 14 goals and only managed three goals, although fixtures vs Chelsea and Manchester City are included here. Despite putting on a good performance in their last outing, they succumbed to a 4-2 loss at the London Stadium. Right now, it’s time to get back to basics for the Clarets and a clean sheet has to be the aim on Saturday.
Head to Head:
When the sides have met in the Premier League, Leicester have a slight advantage over Saturday’s visitors having won three of the six fixtures. Burnley have picked up two wins and were, in fact, victorious in the last time the sides met last April in a 2-1 home win. This fixture last season saw a 1-0 win in the hands of the Foxes.
Team News
Leicester City: Harry Maguire and James Maddison will both be unavailable for the trip of Burnley after picking up knocks in the victory against Cardiff. The former’s is more serious than his teammates after he hobbled off in the first half against the Bluebirds. As for Maddison, he complained shortly after the game and it is thought he has done some slight ligament damage behind the knee. The youngster will be disappointed with this as he will be absent from England’s squad for upcoming games vs the US and Croatia, as will Maguire.
Despite the bad injury news, Puel has fit replacements waiting to come in. Jonny Evans will likely replace Maguire, although Caglar Soyuncu is another option. Maddison will probably be replaced by Iheanacho who will slot straight into the number 10 role. Matty James is still not match fit but will likely be returning after the international break with Daniel Amartey Leicester’s only long-term absentee.
Burnley: Sean Dyche informed the media that James Tarkowski was to consult a specialist on Thursday regarding his ongoing groin problem, putting his participation at doubt. The defender has played through this injury though and will likely do the same this weekend. Phil Bardsley and Jack Cork should both be back for the trip to the King Power giving Dyche plenty of options. Nick Pope and Stephan Ward remain sidelined with shoulder and knee injuries respectively.
As for the attacking outfit, Dyche may have some problems of his own. Chris Wood came off the bench at West Ham and scored Burnley’s second and was unlucky not to have a brace after tickling the crossbar. As for Vydra, he was poor against the Hammers and will be lucky to have a starting spot from the off. Sam Vokes, who has started the last seven Premier League games will likely lead the line with Dyche having the option of three or four to start alongside him.
Predicted Starting XI’s
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Evans, Chilwell; Ndidi, Mendy; Albrighton, Iheanacho, Gray; Vardy
Burnley (4-4-2): Hart; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Defour, Cork, Lennon; Wood, Vokes
Score Prediction: Leicester 3 Burnley 1
This Burnley defence is one short of confidence and a fixture such as this is not one they will be looking forward too. Yes, the attention will be on honouring Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha but as we seen in Wales last week, this Leicester side are desperate to win for him and they will do all it takes to get a victory on Saturday. Burnley did manage two goals against West Ham and were clinical in attack but taking the occasion into account I think this one will slip away from them.
