Brentford will be bidding to make it three Premier League victories in a row when they travel to the King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take on Leicester City.
The Bees are currently 15th in the table, now eight points clear of the relegation zone, while Leicester occupy 12th, only three points ahead of Brentford but with three games in hand on their opponents here.
Match preview
© Reuters
Leicester were expected to again be top-four challengers in the Premier League this season, but they have been well short of that standard in 2021-22, picking up just 33 points from their 26 matches to sit 12th in the table.
The Foxes have three games in hand on the majority of sides around them but will not be able to get close to the top four this term, having already suffered 11 Premier League losses, including a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last weekend, which followed back-to-back wins in England's top flight.
Brendan Rodgers's side will also enter this match off the back of a 2-1 loss to Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening, but they managed to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition with a 3-2 aggregate success, and it was a special night for Wesley Fofana, as he scored on his return from injury.
Leicester have struggled for consistency for much of the campaign, but they still have the chance to secure some European silverware this term and will believe that a top-half finish in the Premier League is still achievable, particularly if they manage to beat Brentford and Manchester United in their next two matches.
The Foxes have won six, drawn three and lost four of their 13 league games at the King Power Stadium this season, while they recorded a 2-1 victory over Brentford in the reverse match back in October.
© Reuters
Brentford have managed to pick up two enormous victories in March, opening the month with a 3-1 success at Norwich City before running out 2-0 winners over Burnley last weekend, with the results moving them up into 15th position in the table on 30 points.
The Bees are far from safe with a lot of football still to be played this season, but they are eight points clear of 18th-placed Watford and another victory this weekend would place them in a very strong position.
Thomas Frank's side are only actually four points behind 11th-placed Crystal Palace, which is an indication of how quickly things can change, but they have two tough matches after this one, visiting Chelsea on April 2 before hosting West Ham United one week later.
Brentford have claimed points in half of their 14 away Premier League games this term, which is a strong record for a newly-promoted club, and they were impressive in their 3-1 success at Norwich on March 5.
The Bees have lost each of their last four matches against Leicester in all competitions, though, and have not actually managed to overcome the Foxes since a 3-2 success in the Second Division back in 1953.
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Leicester were in European action on Thursday evening, and Rodgers will need to assess the fitness of a number of his players before making a final decision on Sunday's starting XI.
Timothy Castagne, Jonny Evans, Jamie Vardy, Danny Ward, Ryan Bertrand and Marc Albrighton are all definitely out, while Boubakary Soumare and Wilfred Ndidi remain doubts.
Patson Daka and Caglar Soyuncu, though, will hope to be available after missing out against Rennes through illness, although Kelechi Iheanacho could retain his spot at the tip of the attack.
Fofana made an emotional return on Thursday after a long period on the sidelines, but the centre-back is unlikely to be in the starting XI here due to the quick turnaround.
Brentford will have had a full week to prepare for this match, but both Tarique Fosu and Julian Jeanvier remain unavailable for selection through thigh and knee problems respectively.
The Bees will also be without the services of Joshua Dasilva through suspension, but the club have not reported any fresh problems ahead of the contest at the King Power Stadium.
As a result, it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field for the clash with Burnley; Ivan Toney netted a brace against the Clarets and will continue at centre-forward, with Sergi Canos and Bryan Mbuemo set to feature in the wide positions.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Amartey, Soyuncu, Justin; Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans; Lookman, Maddison, Barnes; Iheanacho
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Mbuemo, Eriksen, Norgaard, Janelt, Canos; Toney
We say: Leicester City 1-1 Brentford
Brentford will certainly be the fresher of the two teams on Sunday, while their squad is in better shape in terms of absentees. Leicester have lost four times at home in the Premier League this season; we are not backing them to lose this one but believe that Brentford have enough quality to claim a welcome point.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leicester City win with a probability of 65.25%. A draw had a probability of 20.2% and a win for Brentford had a probability of 14.53%.
The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.65%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.41%) and 2-1 (9.82%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.61%), while for a Brentford win it was 0-1 (4.71%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Leicester City would win this match.
