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Leicester logo
Championship
Feb 8, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Watford logo

2-2

James (43'), Drinkwater (90')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Forestieri (9'), Murray (41')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Watford

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship encounter between runaway league leaders Leicester and Watford at the King Power Stadium.

Runaway league leaders Leicester City will look to take another step towards promotion to the Premier League when they host Watford at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

The Foxes have been unstoppable in the Championship recently, stringing together a run of nine consecutive victories to open up a 10-point gap at the top of the table.

With second-placed Queens Park Rangers not in action until Monday night, Leicester could stretch that lead to 13 points if they make it a perfect 10 this Saturday.

Nigel Pearson's side have not been beaten since December 7 and have found an impressive balance between attack and defence, conceding just once in their last four matches.

It took an 81st-minute winner from veteran Kevin Phillips to give Leicester the victory over Bournemouth in their last outing, but at home they have rarely left it that late.

They have only been beaten once and dropped just seven points in front of their own fans this season, amassing 35 points from their 14 league outings at the King Power Stadium.

Despite relying on substitute Phillips to earn them the victory last time out, Pearson is expected to name an unchanged lineup for this weekend's match.

Watford are the team who face the unenviable challenge of trying to stop the rampant Foxes, but they will have been given a much-needed confidence boost from their last outing.

The Hornets overcame promotion candidates Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 to record just their second victory in their last 16 league matches.

While a playoff charge of their own is highly unlikely now, manager Giuseppe Sannino will look to make that result a turning point in his side's campaign.

A draw would certainly be regarded as a good result given Leicester's recent form, and Watford are no strangers to earning a point on their travels this season.

Before back-to-back away defeats to Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, they had recorded no less than seven away draws in a row, and they have only been beaten three times on the road in the league this season.

However, they have also only won three away games, and will certainly be massive underdogs travelling to the King Power Stadium.

Sannino has no injuries worries ahead of the game, with Lewis McGugan expected to have recovered from a knock in time.

Recent form

Leicester: LWWWWW

Watford: LWDLLW

Possible starting lineups

Leicester: Schmeichel; De Laet, Wasilewski, Morgan, Konchesky; Knockaert, James, Drinkwater, Dyer; Vardy, Nugent

Watford: Almunia; Hall, Ekstrand, Angella; Pudil, Murray, McGugan, Faraoni, Anya; Deeney, Forestieri

Sports Mole says: 2-0


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Kevin Phillips of Leicester City celebrates scoring a goal with Lloyd Dyer of Leicester City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Bournemouth and Leicester City at Goldsands Stadium on February 01, 2014
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Tables header RHS
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CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


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