Leicester City will look to snap their slump on Easter Monday when they host Norwich City at the King Power Stadium.
Returning from the international break, Leicester City head into the game against Norwich City in an unusual situation. They sit outside the top two automatic qualification on account of their calamitous collapse.
The Foxes had dominated the league all season and were 12 points clear of the play-offs with just seven games left to go in the season. However, a run of one win in six, coupled with Leeds’s outrageous form in 2024 and Ipswich getting out of the mid-season slump, has seen them slip to third in the Championship standings.
Despite boasting a game in hand over teams above them, they look the likeliest to miss out on automatic promotion. It is astonishing that the Foxes are dropping points against teams that are not even in the play-off picture, including a 1-0 Good Friday loss to Bristol City last time out, as they wasted a plethora of goal-scoring chances.
Enzo Maresca will be keen on seeing his side return to winning ways against Norwich City. But that is easier said than done in the kind of form they find themselves in. Norwich should pose another tough test of their promotion credentials.
The Canaries have been absolutely flying into the play-offs at the business end of the campaign. And they are coming off a comeback win at home to Plymouth Argyle, which made it four wins out of five and three on the bounce.
Leicester City were 2-0 winners when they met Norwich City at Carrow Road earlier in the season. Kelechi Iheanacho and Kasey McAteer were on the scoresheet for the Foxes. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on Sunday and what tactics they might employ.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
Leicester City’s on-loan Manchester City defender Callum Doyle missed the Bristol City game due to suspension after the 20-year-old was sent off in the FA Cup defeat to Chelsea a fortnight ago. But he is now back in contention.
The Foxes were also relieved by a triple injury boost heading into the Ashton Gate game, as Jamie Vardy played 74 minutes upfront, Ricardo Pereira was cleared for a late appearance off the bench, and Dennis Praet also made the bench, although he was not called upon. Tom Cannon, Ben Nelson (both legs), and Kasey McAteer (hamstring) remain on the sidelines, though.
The Foxes will line up in a 4-3-3 formation. Mads Hermansen should start between the sticks behind the back four of Ricardo Pereira, Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, and James Justin.
Harry Winks should start in the midfield trifecta, where he is expected to be flanked by the duo of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Wilfred Ndidi. Vardy’s wasteful display should pave the way for Kelechi Iheanacho or Patson Daka to spearhead the Foxes’ charge on Monday, with Stephy Mavididi and Fatawu in support.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Dewsbury-Hall, Winks, Ndidi; Fatawu, Daka, Mavididi
Norwich City
Norwich City winger Jonathan Rowe is closing in on a return from a hamstring injury. But Friday’s game will come too soon for the 20-year-old, and the same can be said for Onel Hernandez (foot) and Dimitris Giannoulis (hamstring).
A 4-2-3-1 formation could be the order of the day, with Angus Gunn in goal. He will be protected by the quartet of Jack Stacey, Lungi Sorensen, Ben Gibson, and Sam McCallum. Gabriel Sara and Kenny McLean will form the midfield anchor, with the trio of Christian Fassnacht, Ashley Barnes, and Borja Sainz attempting to make an impression in attack.
Josh Sargent has now scored nine goals in his last ten games for Norwich City, including three in a row, and the American-born striker is expected to start upfront as the top attacker.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Gunn; Stacey, Lungi Sorensen, Gibson, McCallum; McLean, Sara; Fassnacht, Barnes, Sainz; Sargent
Key Stats
- Leicester City have won their last three league games against Norwich City by an aggregate score of 7-1.
- Norwich have lost two of their last three away league trips to the King Power Stadium (D1) since a 3-2 win in March 2011.
- This is Leicester City’s first league game on Easter Monday since a 2-0 defeat at Barnsley back in April 2013.
- Norwich City have only lost one of their last nine league matches on Easter Monday (W6 D2), going down 4-1 at QPR in April 2018.
- Norwich have won three, drawn two, and lost three of their last eight away games, although one of those losses was an FA Cup defeat at Anfield to Liverpool.
Player to Watch
Jamie Vardy
Vardy missed Leicester’s FA Cup defeat at Chelsea with a knock but returned at Ashton Gate. He had simply left his best shooting boots in the locker room, as he wasted a glut of gilt-edged chances. That performance aside, he remains a deadly striker even at the age of 37, and is their top scorer this season with 15 goals in all competitions.
Prediction
Leicester City 2-2 Norwich City
Leicester City had opportunities in Friday’s agonising defeat to Bristol City and now face a Norwich City side whose away performances have been disappointing all season. Having said that, David Wagner’s men are in excellent form in front of goal at the moment, scoring ten times and conceding just once while winning their last three Championship games.
With that in mind, The Hard Tackle anticipate a share of the spoils in an entertaining, high-scoring draw between these two Premier League contenders. We predict an engrossing 2-2 stalemate in Sunday’s game at the King Power Stadium.