Welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Leicester City and Stoke City at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes will be in buoyant mood after some good recent form which has seen them go unbeaten in four matches, while Mark Hughes' Stoke side will be looking to bounce back from defeat last time out.
A Leonardo Ulloa strike was enough to hand Leicester all three points when the sides met back in September, but who will be victorious today?
Follow all the coverage below.
Please note that kick-off is at 3pm.
Good afternoon and welcome to live text coverage of the Premier League match between Leicester City and Stoke City here on Sports Mole.
With both sides securing their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the first time of asking, neither was required to play in a replay during midweek just gone.
The Foxes come into this one unbeaten in four matches, with three 1-0 wins spreading out either side of a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on New Year's Day.
Stoke however were comprehensively beaten last time out, with an Alexis Sanchez masterclass downing Mark Hughes' men 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday.
Both lineups have been announced, so let's take a look:
Leicester City: Hamer, Simpson, Morgan, Wasilewski, Konchesky, Knockaert, Drinkwater, King, Schlupp, Nugent, Vardy.
Subs: Schwarzer, De Laet, Albrighton, Lawrence, Moore, Ulloa, Kramaric.
Stoke City: Begovic, Bardsley, Wilson, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Whelan, Nzonzi; Arnautovic, Bojan, Moses, Walters.
Subs: Butland, Huth, Ireland, Adam, Cameron, Sidwell, Crouch.
So the big news then is that Leicester new boy Andrej Kramaric will start on the bench, with the new £9m signing only being granted his work permit yesterday. Despite some decent early season form from Leonardo Ulloa, Nigel Pearson has obviously decided that the team need some more firepower if they're going to stay up this season - although Ulloa himself will be among the subs with the new Croat today.
Out of the side remains Riyad Mahrez who is on international duty at the African Nations Cup. Matty James is also unavailable - serving a suspension for the red card which he received against Aston Villa seven days ago. The club were fined yesterday regarding the incident, in which the FA deemed them 'unable to control their players'.
Danny Drinkwater and Jeffrey Schlupp are back in the team, but Dean Hammond and Esteban Cambiasso both remain sidelined, while goalkeeper Kasper Schmiechel is a long-term absentee. Though the Foxes have added veteran keeper Mark Schwarzer to their squad this month, they've decided to stick with Ben Hamer between the posts today. It's a fair decision, with the deputy keeping four clean sheets in all competitions this season - three more than first-choice Schmiechel. The Australian stopper is among the subs.
For Stoke, Bayer Leverkusen loanee Philipp Wollscheid remains in the starting eleven, with Erik Pieters still nursing an injury. Marc Muniesa is also back in the team having missed the Arsenal defeat last week. Phil Bardsley replaces Geoff Cameron, who has to settle for a place on the bench.
However, the biggest plus for Mark Hughes is the inclusion of Victor Moses. The tricky wideman showed some good early season form before being sidelined, and if he can pick up where he left off in 2014, he could well have an impact today. Peter Crouch makes way.
The Potters also tweeted that captain Ryan Shawcross is injured today, so he's not even made the bench. But Steven Nzonzi - who limped off against Arsenal - has been declared it. The midfielder therefore keeps up his record of starting every Premier League game this season. Elsewhere, striker Mame Biram Diouf is still away with Senegal.
Much like Leicester's recent favourite scoreline, the previous meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-0 win for Pearson and his team. The victory at the Britannia Stadium back in September, courtesy of an Ulloa strike, was Leicester's first of the campaign.
They could really do with repeating the trick this afternoon, as they currently sit at the bottom of the table despite their recent form. They're two points adrift of both Hull City and QPR, and could leapfrog both if the R's lose to Manchester United today and they can register a win. Steve Bruce's Hull are in action tomorrow against West Ham.
Stoke sit firmly in midtable - 11th at the beginning of the day on 26 points. In my mind, they're a classic case of "too good to go down," but it's difficult to say if they're truly capable of finishing above 10th place.
The all-time record between today's opponents is ridiculously close - with the visitors winning 32 of 94 clashes. Leicester have won 31 and there has been 31 draws! That said, the Foxes boast a good home record against Stoke, with them losing just once in the last 25 on their territory.
The lads here at Sports Mole previewed this one earlier in the week. Watch the video below to hear what they make of today's game.
Word on Twitter suggests that Shawcross is missing today after injuring his groin during training yesterday.
PREDICTION: Ok so Pascal went for a draw today, while Barney thinks the away side might edge it 1-0. I tend to agree, but I do see the Foxes scoring. My guess? I think Hughes' side will come out 2-1 winners, with Bojan getting on the scoresheet.
Before we kick-off today, I just want to touch on the signing of Kramaric once again. He's a 23-year-old forward who notched 55 goals in 65 games for Croatian side Rijeka, and he's scored twice in four appearances for his national team, having made his debut last year. Croatia boss Niko Kovac has compared him to World Cup Golden Boot winner Davor Suker, which will surely have the Leicester fans purring at the thought of him wearing royal blue. Surely he'll be given some minutes from the bench this afternoon!
The Foxes have just tweeted some encouraging words on their new man from boss Nigel Pearson.
NP: "Andrej hasn't had much football in the last month, but we've seen him train, he's ready to play a part. Positive influence." #LeiSto
— Leicester City (@OfficialFOXES) January 17, 2015
KICK-OFF Right here we go then, and it's Stoke that get us underway.
Positive start in possession for Stoke, who are winning the ball well in the air and keeping it nicely when it's on the floor.
Goals at Swansea and at Spurs already this afternoon, but nothing here as yet. Stoke are still keeping it well but no chances have been crafted as yet.
Moses is fed the ball centrally but his touch is heavy and any chance he might have made is gone. No surprises that he looks a little rusty there.
Stoke almost get in when Moses sprays the ball out to Walters. In truth, he probably lets it get too wide, as a shot looked on, but instead he tries to find Arnautovic on the overlap. Konchecsky covers and clears.
CLOSE: Leicester win a free-kick in a decent position as Wilson downs Knockaert. The midfielder picks himself up and plays the set piece in, with Walters heading the danger clear. From the corner, Nugent's looped header drops just wide of Begovic's post.
SHOT: Moses works into some space on the left corner of the area. Instead of breaking to the byline, he tries to beat Hamer with a curling strike. The goalkeeper is untroubled as the ball sails over.
Lovely, jinking run from Bojan, who leaves two players in his wake before Wasilewski hacks him down. The defender couldn't have had too many complaints had he gone into the book. Arnautovic then fires the free kick into Hamer's arms. Easy save.
Just as Stoke look threatening, Leicester break away. The ball finds its way to Vardy, whose cross is poor. It drops to Schlupp - who tries a spectacular - before smacking Whelan and deflecting away.
YELLOW CARD: Wasilewski goes into the book for a late tackle on Walters. Nowhere near the ball, though he still argues the call. After his foul a few minutes ago, he shouldn't really grumble.
Vital challenge from Danny Simpson, who gets to a low squared ball before Moses. It was good play from Arnautovic, who looked appalling last week in defeat to Arsenal.
Schlupp wins a corner off of Bardsley, who claims he is pushed. The delivery is contested by Morgan, before Wasilewski tries an overhead kick. Begovic claims the ball, but Bardsley is down and being attended to.
Stoke exchange a number of passes outside the box before Moses slides it back to Nzonzi. His shot is blocked, so Whelan attempts a similar thing. It deflects through to Moses, who is flagged offside.
CHANCE: Two big Leicester efforts nearly give them the lead! First, Schlupp twists Bardsley inside out and squares the ball for Knockaert, but his effort is tame and straight at Begovic. From the next attack, Nugent bends a shot towards the back post, the ball dropping just wide once more.
Stoke go long for Walters, with Morgan shepherding him out of play. He's not happy, believing he should've had a corner.
Wollscheid wins a header from a corner but he can't direct it on target. It looked as if Simpson had the post covered anyway.
Bardsley plays a deep cross to Moses, who looks to shape a shot goalwards. However, he's penalised for a push on Simpson and Leicester can clear.
Down the other end, Schlupp flicks the ball over Bardsley and skips down the left. With nobody in the box, he looks up and hits a cross-shot just over Begovic's crossbar. I can't decide whether that was a proper effort on goal or not!
CHANCE: Schlupp delivers again, this time for Vardy. The forward has his back to goal so flicks a back-heeled effort Begovic's way. The keeper is equal to it.
Leicester win a corner with injury time to play, which Knockaert takes. Begovic claims it comfortably and that'll will probably be it.
HALF TIME: LEICESTER CITY 0-0 STOKE CITY
Well, it's not the worst game you'll ever watch. Both teams have had their positive moments, with Moses looking dangerous for Stoke and Schlupp lively down Leicester's left.
Despite carving out some chances, neither team really look like they possess the killer instinct to stick it in the net. For the hosts, Vardy and Nugent look neat and tidy, but Pearson must be so tempted to throw Kramaric on! He hasn't played since mid-December, so it makes sense that he's on the bench. I'd be surprised if we didn't see him at some point, however.
Stoke are clearly missing the hustle and bustle of Diouf, who provides a lot of graft when he leads the line. He might not be the most prolific forward, but he holds it up well and creates plenty for his teammates.
We're back underway, with the home side kicking us off again.
CHANCE: Best chance of the game probably, following an excellent slaloming run from Moses. He slides in Arnautovic, who should go across goal with his shot. Instead, he aims for the near post and simply smashes against the side netting. Poor finish, but good start from the visitors.
In my opinion, Wasilewski should be sent off. Having been booked in the first half, the defender should walk after deliberately clattering Begovic from a free-kick. It's a ridiculous challenge, and Stoke's players have every right to complain.
It's Leicester on the attack at the moment, with a number of free-kicks being won in wide positions. The delivery - usually from Knockaert - just isn't quite good enough at present.
Begovic gets mixed up trying to retrieve a long ball. It's played into his box, with Vardy chasing it down, and the striker nearly nicks it away. Stoke are relieved to hack it clear.
Moses does well down the left and feeds Walters. His shot slams against a Leicester body, but Stoke work it wide again. From the cross, Bojan gets to it first, though his touch is heavy and it goes out of play.
SAVE: Great stop from Hamer, who reacts well to an extremely powerful volley from Nzonzi. The midfielder caught it sweetly, and although it was straight at the keeper, he had to stop it and get it out of harms way. The closest we've come to a goal today.
GOAL FOR STOKE CITY!
Just as Leicester were preparing Kramaric to come on, Stoke break the deadlock. They go down the right, with Arnautovic playing in Walters. He in turn passes to Bojan, and although it's slightly behind him, he swivels and strokes it low into the corner with his left peg. Lovely finish.
SUBSTITUTION FOR LEICESTER CITY: Now Kramaric can come on for his debut, but his assignment now is to rescue a point for his team. He replaces Vardy, who hasn't had much of an impact at all today.
Kramaric works it onto his right foot, carving out his first shot in a royal blue shirt. However, it's tame and straight at Begovic.
SUBSTITUTION FOR LEICESTER CITY: Double change as Schlupp and Nugent make way for Ulloa and Lawrence.
Despite the need for an equaliser, Leicester aren't offering too much going forward at the moment. Stoke look comfortable, although the "ole" chant from their fans as they pass the ball around might be a tad premature.
Half-chance for Leicester, with Kramaric swinging a ball in. Ulloa gets in the way of Knockaert, whose deflected effort forcing Begovic to concede a corner.
SUBSTITUTION FOR STOKE CITY: Arnautovic trots off in place of Crouch, as Hughes looks to cement this win.
The Foxes attack and Ulloa tries to win the knock down. Despite Shawcross' absence today, Stoke look comfortable.
SUBSTITUTION FOR STOKE CITY: Defensive change from Hughes, as he swaps Cameron for Moses. The winger can be happy with his afternoon's work though, as he's looked really spritely on his return from injury.
This game is petering out now, with the home side looking increasingly unlikely to get something from this now. Three minutes are to be added on.
Crouch tries a wonder-effort from wide on the touchline. It's a half-volley which tries to catch Hamer out, and it nestles on top of his net.
FULL TIME: LEICESTER CITY 0-1 STOKE CITY
All over here, and Stoke pick up three points relatively comfortably. In truth, they were probably the better side, but this was far from a classic.
Leicester fell just short, playing like a side struggling at the bottom. It was disappointing, considering their recent form. Creating chances is clearly a problem for them, and it's going to be a tough battle if they're going to stay up this season.
Thank you for joining us this afternoon. Stick around for all the reaction from this and all the other Premier League matches, here on Sports Mole.
Written by
Joe McPhee
Joe McPhee
