Leeds – Leicester : Preview & Prediction
With the Premier League (PL) relegation battle heading for a nail-biting finish, Leeds United currently find themselves at the head of what could be a five-horse race in 16th place, as the bottom five teams in the table are only separated by the same amount of points. They have done themselves no favors recently, after Javi Gracia’s side recorded a third defeat in a row following a 2-1 loss to Fulham last time out.
Usually, returning to Elland Road would do the Whites a lot of good, but they recently waved the white flag at home after suffering heavy 5-1 and 6-1 defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool, respectively. Nerves could be exacerbated when they receive the visit of a desperate Leicester City, especially with Leeds winning just one of their last nine meetings between them (E3, P5) and keeping just one clean sheet in the process.
Leicester are nobody to talk to when it comes to keeping a clean sheet, as they remain the only club in Europe’s top five leagues without achieving this in the top flight since the World Cup. It’s been 17 PL games since they last conceded no goals, but that didn’t stop them from breaking a run of ten official matches without a win (E1, P9) when they beat Wolves 2-1 at the weekend to finally climb out of the relegation zone while moving up to the coveted 17th spot.
Securing back-to-back wins will therefore see them overtake their hosts, as well as giving them their second league double over Leeds this century after winning the first leg 2-0 in October. However, the Foxes have been the hunters or the hunted on the road this season as they have only drawn one away game, the fewest in the league.
Players to watch: Leeds will be looking to Luis Sinisterra to put on a show at Elland Road, having scored eight of his last 11 goals at club level at home. Meanwhile, Leicester fans will look for Harvey Barnes to once again put on a show of his own against Leeds after scoring in each of his last six appearances against them.
Key Fact: Twenty of Leeds’ PL games this season have seen both teams score, the most in the league.
Leeds – Leicester : Betting Tips
BTS/YES Odds: 2.25
