Preview: Leicester City vs Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

On a mission to make amends and strengthen their weakening promotion push, Leicester City host Watford at the King Power Stadium in the Championship on Boxing Day.

The Foxes suffered a sobering afternoon at Queens Park Rangers last time out, whilst the Hornets' excellent Vicarage Road form continued versus Stoke City.

Match preview

Enjoying a Premier League title within the last decade, Leicester City are currently in danger of blending into mid-table mediocrity as a Championship outfit, on course to finish outside the top 26 of English football for the first time since 2012.

That being said, the Foxes commenced their December duties brightly with a return of seven points across three games, however the East Midlanders suffered a major setback at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon, whey they lost 4-1 to QPR.

A quartet of first-half strikes for the hosts condemned Marti Cifuentes's troops to their seventh loss of the second-tier campaign, leaving them languishing in 13th position, four points adrift of Millwall in the playoffs.

Despite losing just two of their 10 games at the King Power Stadium to date, Leicester only rank 17th in the division based on home form, although they managed a standout 3-1 success over Ipswich Town last time out in the East Midlands.

A constant Achilles' heel in 2025-26, the Foxes have struggled to contain a leaky defence and have failed to keep a clean sheet in 16 matches, with their most recent shutout coming against Coventry City back in September.

Following three consecutive seasons of mid-table finishes for Watford, there are genuine ambitions of a playoff push in the corridors of Vicarage Road, where Friday's visitors picked up another three points on the weekend.

On the permanent books of sister club Udinese, Danish loanee Luca Kjerrumgaard bagged his seventh goal of the second-tier season in the second half last time out to secure a 1-0 victory over a stuttering Stoke side.

In the midst of a four-game unbeaten run (W2 D2) and losing just one of their past 10 contests, Javi Gracia's side have jumped up to 10th position in the Championship rankings, only three points behind Millwall in sixth.

Only league leaders Coventry (26) have collected more points than Watford's 25 from home matches so far, meaning that the Hornets' away form is the clear culprit for their failure to sit in the playoffs at Christmas, with the Hertfordshire outfit earning a mere seven points on the road.

Arguably unlucky to miss out on selection for Morocco at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, midfielder Imran Louza has stepped up to the attacking plate this season, netting six league goals already after scoring only twice across the entire 2024-25 term.

Leicester City Championship form:

L L W D W L

Watford Championship form:

D L W D D W

Team News

Leicester are preparing to be without the services of Jannik Vestergaard on Boxing Day, with the defender forced off because of a head injury at QPR.

The Foxes could therefore need to find a new partner at centre-back for Ben Nelson, with Wout Faes and Caleb Okoli candidates to enter the XI.

Cifuentes is likely to make alterations after witnessing his side mauled in the first half at Loftus Road, meaning that teenage sensation Jeremy Monga could start.

Watford are one of the Championship sides impact by AFCON, with Edo Kayembe of DR Congo and Mali's Mamadou Doumbia away at the tournament.

The Hornets' options in attack are reduced further by the absence of Rocco Vata, who is expected back in late January.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Stolarczyk; Pereira, Nelson, Faes, Thomas; James, Skipp; Fatawu, Ramsey, Monga; Thomas

Watford possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Ngakia, Alleyne, Pollock, Bola; Ince, Kyprianou, Louza; Chakvetadze, Kjerrumgaard