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Leicester logo
Premier League
Feb 27, 2016 at 3pm UK
 
Norwich logo

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Preview: Leicester City vs. Norwich City

Sports Mole casts its eye over Saturday afternoon's Premier League match as leaders Leicester City welcome struggling Norwich City.

Premier League leaders Leicester City have had a couple of weeks to reflect upon their heartbreaking defeat at Arsenal and this weekend welcome lowly Norwich City on matchday 27.

The Canaries are only out of the drop zone on goal difference and could slip down to second-bottom should results go against them this weekend.


Leicester

Danny Simpson sees red during the Premier League game between Arsenal and Leicester City on February 14, 2016© Getty Images

It looked as if the 10-man Foxes were going to hold out for a point at the Emirates until the 95th minute when Danny Welbeck marked his return to the side with a winning goal that blew the title race wide open once more.

The Premier League's top scorer Jamie Vardy had given Leicester the lead from the penalty spot, but after Danny Simpson's red card it was always going to be a tough ask for the Foxes and in the end they could not hold out.

They are still on top, but North London duo Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are now just two points behind following the former's win at another title rival, Manchester City.

It was another goal for Vardy, though, and only teammate Riyad Mahrez (24) has been involved in more Premier League goals than the Englishman (22) this season.

In fact, Mahrez and Vardy (33) have scored more Premier League goals between them this season than the whole Norwich team (30) and there were rumours this week that Mahrez has caught the eye of Spanish giants Barcelona.

With only 12 matches of the season remaining, comparing the title hopefuls' run-ins becomes more and more relevant and, on paper, Leicester have the advantage over everyone else. They do not play another current top-four side, although they do finish the campaign against Manchester United (A), Everton (H) and Chelsea (A).

Leicester's dodgy defence was a reason some did not consider Claudio Ranieri's side title contenders earlier on this season, but the Foxes have conceded just three goals in their last eight Premier League matches at the King Power Stadium and have gone six hours and 13 minutes since they last conceded on home soil.

Recent Premier League form: WDWWWL
Recent form (all competitions): DLWWWL


Norwich

Robbie Brady of Norwich City celebrates scoring his team's first goal against West Ham United on February 13© Getty Images

Like Leicester, the Canaries have had a week off after going out of the FA Cup in the third round in January.

Their last result - a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham - looks like a decent one, but Alex Neil's side squandered a two-goal advantage in the match to pick up just a point.

Still, it ended a dismal run of six defeats in all competitions, in which they conceded 19 goals, and edged the Norfolk side out of the bottom three on goal difference.

If they are to stay up, Norwich have to improve away from home. They have won just one and lost nine of the last 12 Premier League away games.

The Canaries have also gone 13 Premier League games on the road without a clean sheet.

Recent form: LLLLLD


Team News

Ghana's defender Daniel Amartey poses ahead of the 2015 African Cup of Nations group C football match between Ghana and Senegal in Mongomo on January 19, 2015© AFP

With Simpson suspended following his red card at Arsenal, Ghanaian January signing Daniel Amartey could make his Foxes debut at right-back.

Ranieri is not expected to make any other changes, although Jeffrey Schlupp is closing in on a return from his hamstring injury.

Alexander Tettey, meanwhile, is back from suspension and should line up in midfield for Norwich.

John Ruddy returned in goal for the Canaries against West Ham after two-and-a-half months out of the team and the Englishman is expected to keep his place ahead of Declan Rudd between the sticks.

Leicester possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Amartey, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, Kante, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy

Norwich possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Martin, Klose, Bassong, Brady; Tettey, O'Neil; Redmond, Hoolahan, Naismith; Jerome


Head To Head

Vardy and Jeffrey Schlupp scored first-half goals before Leicester held off Norwich's second-half fightback to win 2-1 in the reverse fixture in October.

Vardy's goal at Carrow Road came from the spot and the winning side in the last three league meetings between these two have scored a penalty. Leicester have won more penalties than any other team in the Premier League this season (10).


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We say: Leicester 3-0 Norwich

There have been plenty of goals in recent meetings between these two and that should happen again tomorrow with Leicester desperate to recover from defeat to Arsenal and Norwich's defence especially leaky of late.



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