Preview: Leicester City vs Derby County - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams looking to push towards the playoff spots in the Championship table will lock horns on Monday, with Leicester City welcoming Derby County to the King Power Stadium.

Leicester are 14th in the division, five points behind sixth-placed Bristol City, while Derby are 11th, four points off the playoffs ahead of the next set of fixtures in the second tier.

Match preview

Leicester were relegated from the Premier League last season, so the Foxes are looking to secure an immediate return to the top flight, but it has been a struggle so far this term.

Marti Cifuentes' side have a record of eight wins, seven draws and eight defeats from their 23 Championship matches this season, with 31 points leaving them in 14th spot in the division, five points behind sixth-placed Bristol City.

Leicester will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Watford, and they were also beaten 4-1 by Queens Park Rangers on December 20.

The Foxes were last victorious on December 13, recording a 3-1 home success over Ipswich Town, but they have lost four of their last seven in the second tier.

Leicester have picked up 16 points from their 11 home Championship matches this season, while Derby actually have the third-best away record in the division, claiming 18 points from their 11 matches away from their own stadium.

Derby have one of the worst home records in the Championship this season, but their away form has been largely excellent, and that has prevented them from potentially being close to the relegation zone at this stage of the campaign.

John Eustace's side have a record of eight wins, eight draws and seven defeats from their 23 Championship matches this season, with 32 points leaving them in 11th spot in the table, only four points behind sixth-placed Bristol City.

The Rams are unbeaten in their last four matches in the Championship, but three of those games have ended in draws, including a 1-1 with Birmingham City on December 26.

Derby have not actually lost since a 3-1 reverse to Leicester at the start of the month, and the two teams are now preparing to lock horns once more.

The Rams have not beaten Leicester since March 2013, with five of their last six meetings being won by the Foxes, although their clash earlier this month was their first contest in almost nine years.

Leicester City Championship form:

LWDWLL

Derby County Championship form:

LLDWDD

Team News

Leicester will again be without the services of Harry Souttar due to an ankle injury, while Patson Daka is in action for Zambia at the African Cup of Nations.

Jordan James has been in strong form for the Foxes this season, scoring six times in 19 appearances, and there will again be a spot in midfield for the 21-year-old.

Jordan Ayew has four goals to his name this term, meanwhile, and the 34-year-old is again in line for a spot in the final third of the field on Monday.

As for Derby, Joe Ward is suspended following his red card against Birmingham on Boxing Day, but no fresh injury problems have been reported ahead of this match.

That said, Carlton Morris, who is the club's leading goalscorer this season with 10, is still out with a leg injury, which is a major blow considering his form in the first part of the campaign.

Dion Sanderson was ineligible against his parent club last time out, but the 26-year-old is available again here and is set to replace Danny Batth in the starting side.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Stolarczyk; Pereira, Nelson, Okoli, Thomas; James, Skipp; Fatuwu, De Cordova-Reid, Mavididi; Ayew

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Widell Zetterstorm; Langas, Sanderson, Clarke; Adams, Thompson, Clark, Elder; Brewster; Brereton-Diaz, Agyemang

We say: Leicester City 1-1 Derby County

Derby's away form has been impressive this term, and we are struggling to back Leicester to triumph considering their recent struggles. In our view, a draw is the most likely outcome at the King Power Stadium.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.