Leicester City vs Stoke City
Date: 24/02/18
K/O: 12:30pm
Venue: King Power Stadium
Stoke City visit the King Power this Saturday lunchtime after a week off due to FA Cup fixtures and therefore will be well rested for the challenge of Leicester City.
The hosts successfully negotiated themselves a way into the quarter final of the FA cup where they are now due to meet Chelsea mid-March. Sheffield United were the visitors to the KP last Friday night, where a vastly experienced and quality Leicester squad relied on an exquisitely placed Jamie Vardy header to book their place in the last 8.
The corresponding fixture of Saturdays 12.30 kick off, which will be shown live on Sky Sports, was an enthralling 2-2 encounter in which a Peter Crouch second half header meant the points were shared. This fixture notably was the third 2-2 draw between the two clubs in five fixtures.
Since Paul Lamberts arrival, it’s fair to say the Potters form has been slightly improved, having picked up 5 points from their last 12 (1 win, 2 draws, 1 loss). However, this is still relegation form and Stoke are flirting with the possibility of playing Championship football next season.
Leicester’s Premier League form is nothing to be jubilant about either as between the clubs 4th and 5th round victories in the FA cup, they have lost 2 and drew 1 in the Premier League, an embarrassing 5-1 defeat last time out against Manchester City will not be forgotten about as of yet and the Foxes will be looking to put this behind them promptly.
Leicester City Team News
The Foxes and Puel have been boosted by the return of captain, Wes Morgan, for the fixture against the Potters. After obtaining a hamstring injury on New Year’s Day the 34-year-old got 90 minutes under his belt in the 1-0 victory against the Blades and will be looking for an immediate return to the Premier League match day squad come Saturday lunchtime. Since his absence, the choice of the partnership with Harry Maguire has been between Yohan Benalouane and Aleksandar Dragovic, with the latter being the preferred. After some satisfactory performances from the Austrian, it is not a certainty that Morgan will come straight back in, although his leadership qualities make him a sterling candidate to return to the match day XI.
As for any other absentees, Shinji Okazaki is once again set to be unavailable as he recovers from a knee injury picked up in training. He is expected to return to training next week and due to the Japanese Internationals injury, Kelechi Iheanacho will likely be chosen to support Jamie Vardy up top as the Englishman looks to score in his 6th consecutive fixture.
Stoke City Team News
Paul Lambert suggested in his pre-match press conference on Thursday that he is delighted with the effort of his players since he arrived at Stoke and said his team can ‘win games and look as though they can really compete’. If it wasn’t for Charlie Adam’s missed penalty at the Bet365 Stadium a couple weeks ago, they would have won a game and would be two points better off which may be two vital points come the end of the campaign.
With the short journey east set for Stoke come Saturday, Lambert has voiced his concerns with the fitness of his squad. With some of his players picking up knocks in training they will be assessed come Friday as to whether they can make the trip. Peter Crouch is a confirmed absentee for the game against Leicester, as he recovers from an ankle injury. Alongside Crouch, Stephen Ireland is still sidelined.
After Lambert saying he is unsure how many points it will take to survive this season, it is important his team start to get on track and gain some very much needed points and push themselves up the league, however there will be no easy fixture for Lamberts men and it will be a demanding few months.
Prediction: Leicester 3 Stoke 1 – with both teams having not won in 3 Premier League appearances, it is a key battle for both sides with the intention to get back into winning from surely at the forefront of both Puel and Lambert. Stoke have not won a competitive away fixture in 9 games, losing 7. Leicester have only lost once in 90 minutes at home in their last 10, this was a 3-0 thumping by Crystal Palace. Although Stoke have the edge in terms of rest, I think home advantage will take a significant role in this fixture and think Leicester will triumph over their Midlands counterparts.
Written by Eamon Kitching.
