Leicester City will host Fulham in their next Premier League game on Tuesday, looking to bounce back from the unfortunate defeat to Liverpool.
Leicester City were beaten 2-1 courtesy of two own goals from Wout Faes. They are 13th in the league table and are coming into this game on the back of two consecutive defeats. Brendan Rodgers will demand an improvement from his players, and it remains to be seen whether Leicester can step up and grind out all three points against a high-flying Fulham side.
The Londoners have been in fine form this season and are seventh in the league table. Fulham are coming into this game on the back of two consecutive wins over Crystal Palace and Southampton.
They will be confident of grinding out another important result here. Marco Silva has done a fabulous job at Fulham since their promotion, and the Londoners will probably fancy their chances of challenging for European qualification after the kind of start they have had.
Set for our first match of 2023 👊#LEIFUL pic.twitter.com/fh0DVM5Eyj
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 2, 2023
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
The home side will be without the services of Jonny Evans, James Justin, Ricardo Pereira, James Maddison, Dennis Praet, Patson Daka, and Ryan Bertrand due to injuries. Brendan Rodgers will have to field a weakened side against Fulham, and the Leicester players are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Danny Ward will retain his place in goal.
The likes of Timothy Castagne and Luke Thomas will line up as the full-backs. Daniel Amartey will partner with Wout Faes at the heart of the Leicester defence. Faes will be hoping to get over his Liverpool nightmare with a positive performance here.
Youri Tielemans is likely to partner with Wilfred Ndidi in the midfield double pivot. And Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be deployed as the number ten after his goalscoring performance in the last game.
Jamie Vardy is expected to lead the line for Leicester against Fulham after starting on the bench against Liverpool. Ayoze Perez and Kelechi Iheanacho will start as the wingers, hoping to provide a direct threat in the final third.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ward; Castagne, Amartey, Faes, Thomas; Ndidi, Tielemans; Perez, Dewsbury-Hall, Iheanacho; Vardy
Fulham
Fulham will be without Layvin Kurzawa, Manor Solomon, and Neeskens Kebano due to injuries. The Londoners are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as well, with Bernd Leno in goal.
Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson will start as the full-backs here. Issa Diop and Tim Ream will start at the heart of the Fulham defence. In the midfield, Joao Palhinha will retain his place alongside Harrison Reed after his exceptional performance against Southampton.
Bobby Decordova-Reid and Willian will line up as the wingers for the away side, and Andreas Pereira will start as the number ten, in behind Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Mitrovic
Key Stats
- Leicester City have won two of their past three matches against Fulham.
- Fulham won 2-1 at Leicester in their last league visit to King Power Stadium.
- Leicester have lost their first league game in just one of the past 14 calendar years (W9 D4).
- Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has won eight of his nine Premier League matches against Fulham.
- Leicester City are conceding an average of 1.50 goals in their all competitions games
Player to Watch
Aleksandar Mitrovic
The Serbian striker has been absolutely exceptional this season. Mitrovic has scored ten goals in 14 Premier League games this season, and he managed to carry that form into the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well, scoring twice in three outings.
Mitrovic missed a penalty against Southampton and will be fired up to bounce back strongly. The 28-year-old will be desperate to get back amongst the goals and could look to exploit Leicester’s vulnerable backline when the two sides meet on Tuesday.
Prediction
Leicester 1-1 Fulham
Fulham are in better form heading into this game, but this won’t be an easy contest. Both teams are quite evenly matched, and Leicester will be desperate to turn things around. This is likely to be a close game with a fair few chances for either side. The two teams are likely to cancel each other out in the end, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw.