Thursday Premier League – Leicester City vs Southampton Preview
April 19th 2018 19:45 – King Power Stadium
Recent Form (League)
Leicester: DWWLL
Southampton: DLLLL
Two out of form teams meet at the King Power Stadium, but the hosts have not lost consecutive Premier League matches at the King Power Stadium since September, when they were beaten by Chelsea and Liverpool.
After suffering defeat to in-form Burnley in their last game, the Foxes effectively have no chance of qualifying for next season’s Europa League. But the fact they were even in with an outside chance shows what a fantastic job manager Claud Puel has done since taking charge in October 2017.
Leicester are not in the best form, but they have only lost four of their last 12 in the league, and that ratio improves to three defeats in 12 at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes sit in eighth place in the Premier League table, but there is very little chance of them improving on that position between now and the end of the campaign, so their aim for the final few weeks is simply to consolidate that spot. They have not helped their cause in the past couple of weeks with a defeat to Newcastle United followed by a loss at Burnley last time out, so there is some pressure on Claude Puel’s side to stop the slide. With Everton and Newcastle breathing down their necks this could be the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways.
Southampton are in truly woeful form having lost four consecutive games, including their heart-breaking defeat to Chelsea last time out where they managed to throw away a two goal lead.
Sitting in the Premier League bottom three, their chances of survival slipped further with that Chelsea comeback. They are now five points adrift of Swansea and only a point in front of Stoke, so they really need to turn their form around.
That’s easier said than done as, even with a managerial change, an upturn in form has failed to materialise. They have failed to win their last seven Premier League games, losing five of them and conceding 15 goals in the process. They beat bottom of the table West Brom back at the start of February, but that is their only league victory in their last 20 attempts and one of only two away wins all season.
Despite having an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to on Sunday, the Saints cannot afford to be distracted, and with time running out will need to somehow reverse this trend of defeats. But having not won in Leicester since 2007 the odds do not look good.
Prediction:
Claud Puel’s men have the perfect chance to ensure it is not three consecutive defeats, and I fully expect them to take it. Back the home win with Betfair.