Leicester City vs Everton Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Leicester City welcome Everton to the King Power Stadium as they try to break into the top half of the Premier League table.

Everton make a trip to the King Power Stadium to face a Leicester City side aiming to break into the top half of the Premier League table. The Toffees, however, have a much bigger task at hand as they are currently in the relegation zone.

Frank Lampard’s men are 18th in the league with 32 points from 33 matches. But they have the chance to move out of the drop zone by getting all three points from their trip to Leicester. Leeds United, who are 17th, have just two more points than Everton and have played a match more.

Thus there is no question that Lampard will want his side to get all three points from the matchup, which could go a long way in deciding their Premier League future.

The Foxes, on the other hand, had been competing for European spots over the last few seasons but have fallen off the radar this term. They are currently 14th in the table, two points behind 10th-placed Crystal Palace but with two matches in hand.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have been winless in their last four league encounters while Everton have registered two wins in their last four outings in the English top flight. The Foxes come into the encounter on the back of a disappointing Europa Conference League semi-final defeat to Roma, whereas Everton are fresh off a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League.

The contrasting form and fortunes of the two sides could make for an interesting encounter at the King Power Stadium.

Team News & Tactics

Leicester City

Having just played on Thursday night, Brendan Rodgers could make a few changes to the XI that started in the Conference League semi-final against Roma. Wilfred Ndidi and Ryan Bertrand continue to be long-term absentees but Rodgers should have the rest of his squad available.

Kasper Schmeichel is expected to continue in goal for the Foxes but there could be wholesale changes in the back four. Timothy Castagne, Caglar Soyuncu, Daniel Amartey and Luke Thomas could form the backline, with the full-backs given the licence to push forward and provide attacking width.

Youri Tielemans and James Maddison are expected to retain their spot in the middle of the park, with Nampalys Mendy slotting in the defensive midfield role. Jamie Vardy could make way for Kelechi Iheanacho. Marc Albrighton and Harvey Barnes are expected to take either flank.

Barnes and Maddison will be key to Leicester City’s chance-creation and how they perform could have a major say on the outcome of the clash on Sunday.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Castagne, Soyuncu, Amartey, Thomas; Maddison, Mendy, Tielemans; Albrighton, Iheanacho, Barnes

Everton

Frank Lampard has confirmed that the Toffees will go into the Leicester encounter with the same squad that took on Chelsea last week, with the addition of Andre Gomes. Donny van de Beek, Ben Godfrey, Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson continue to be on the sidelines and will not take part in the encounter at the King Power Stadium.

This means there would be minimal changes in the XI that took the field against the Blues but Lampard could employ a new system. Everton played with a 4-3-3 formation against Leicester just a fortnight ago and Lampard could revert to that after using a 5-4-1 in the 1-0 win over Chelsea.

Jordan Pickford will continue in goal with a back four of Seamus Coleman, Mason Holgate, Yerry Mina and Vitaliy Mykolenko shielding him. Alex Iwobi, who played as a right wing-back against Chelsea will into the midfield alongside Fabian Delph and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Anthony Gordon, Richarlison and Demarai Gray will form the front three with the former on the right flank and Gray on the other. The young Gordon has been a lively performer for the Toffees of late and will look to cause problems to the Leicester defence with his directness and speed.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pickford; Coleman, Holgate, Mina, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Delph, Doucoure; Gordon, Richarlison, Gray

Key Stats

• Leicester and Everton faced off just a fortnight ago at the Goodison Park with the match finishing 1-1.
• Leicester have been without a win in their last six fixtures across all competitions.
• Both the last two fixtures between these two sides have ended in 1-1 draws.
• Everton have scored at least once in all of their last six matches against Leicester.
• The last time Foxes managed to beat Everton was back in December 2019, when they emerged 2-1 winners in the Premier League.

Player to Watch

Richarlison

Richarlison was on the scoresheet in Everton’s improbable win over Chelsea last time out. He has scored nine goals for the Toffees across competitions and has also provided four assists. Expect the Brazilian to be in the thick of things against Leicester as well, even as he continues to be linked with a move away from the Merseyside this summer.

Prediction

Leicester City 0-2 Everton

The Toffees are in a do-or-die situation with every match virtually a cup final for them. They showed discipline against Chelsea last time up and will be buoyed by the win over Thomas Tuchel’s men. Expect them to come all guns blazing to inflict further misery upon the Foxes who recently suffered a European semi-final knockout blow.