Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Leicester City
Date: 19/01/2019
K/O: 12:30
Venue: Molineux
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
After finishing game-week 22 with a loss to the Champions, Wolves will begin game-week 23 as they host their Midlands rivals Leicester City in a mid-table battle.
Despite the Midlands being home for both the Wolves and the Foxes, just over 60 miles separate Molineux and the King Power by car but expect this one to be a feisty affair as both sides look to bounce back from defeats last time around. The visitors succumbed to defeat at home to Southampton last weekend and the final whistle was met with boos from some of the home faithful with pressure continuing to mount on Claude Puel.
The Frenchman said he understood why fans are frustrated and noted during his press conference on Thursday that “we were angry about our performance [against Southampton], it was not enough. It was a shame because we had a fantastic result before and we lost the credit of the good result.”
Reports this week have suggested that Leicester are lining up Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers to replace the Frenchman at the King Power yet he and his side should take confidence in the fact that their last two trips away from the King Power in the league have resulted in 1-0 victories against Chelsea and Everton.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves will be aware of the Foxes threat travelling away from home in recent weeks yet will be buoyed knowing that a win will take them above Saturday’s visitors and possibly into 7th depending on results around them.
Similar to their Midlands rivals, Wolves have shown extreme inconsistency this season and after their extraordinary victory over Spurs away from home, they fell to defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. Since then they defeated Liverpool in the FA Cup third round but were brushed aside by Manchester City on Monday night.
Wolves showed courage and fear in this fixture though and the 3-0 loss is perhaps flattering due to playing the game with 10 men for over 70 minutes after Willy Boly’s straight red card.
Head to Head: The West Midlands side have a slight edge over their East Midlands counterparts with 42 wins in comparison to Leicester’s 38. The two sides have drawn 32 times yet the Foxes have the better of the recent record having won the last three times the sides have met.
Team News
Wolves: Wolves suffered back to back defeats in the league for the third time this season after defeat to the Citizens but Santo will be hopeful his side can return to the top half of the league come Saturday. He will be without the ever-present Willy Boly though who starts a three-match ban after his sending off at the Etihad.
Leander Dendoncker will likely replace the Frenchman with Romain Saiss coming into the midfield. Aside from that, there will likely be no changes to the Wolves line up with Doherty and Jonny striding forwards as wing backs and Jimenez and Jota leading the line. Santo will be looking for a quick start as his side have only managed five first-half goals this season – the fewest in the division. They will take satisfaction that Leicester have conceded the opening goal on 14 occasions this season which is second in the league to Cardiff’s 15.
Leicester City: As reports have suggested, defeat to Wolves could see the end of Claude Puel at Leicester City so he will be determined to field his strongest starting XI at Molineux. The good news for him is that his whole squad, apart from Daniel Amartey, are fit to play in the West Midlands. Johnny Evans is returning to the side after absence yet Wes Morgan and Harry Maguire are likely to remain the two in front of the Dane in goal.
One place we could see a change in is the centre of midfield. After his first-half horror show last weekend, Nampalys Mendy was substituted at half time and replaced by Demari Gray. The former may pay the price this weekend and Hamza Choudhury, who has impressed in recent outings, may feature from the outset.
Puel reverted to a 4-3-3 last weekend and he could do the same here but a switch to a 4-2-3-1 would be preferred. The latter formation would allow a start for Harvey Barnes, who looked sharp in the second half last week, full of confidence after his return from his loan spell at West Brom. Jamie Vardy will lead the line with Maddison likely playing the number 10 role; the youngster picked up his first Premier League goal in the reverse fixture and will be desperate to grab another after his recent questionable form.
Predicted Starting XI’s
Wolves (3-4-1-2): Patricio; Bennett, Coady, Dendoncker; Doherty, Neves, Saiss, Jonny; Moutinho; Jimenez, Jota
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Pereira, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell; Ndidi, Choudhury; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Score Prediction: Wolves 1 Leicester City 1
Wolves have lost five of their last seven at home in the league and the Foxes are looking for their third straight away league victory and their third victory over Wolves this season. After being knocked out to Newport County in the FA Cup and then being defeated at home to Southampton in the league, Leicester are desperate for a good performance but would likely take a point against their Midlands rivals.
