Leicester City and Crystal Palace will clash in a relegation battle six-pointer on Wednesday, with both teams eager to rack up the maximum haul at the King Power Stadium.
Gameweek 21 of the 2024/25 Premier League season will continue on Wednesday, which will feature four matches. The action on the day will start with three simultaneous games, including Leicester City vs Crystal Palace at the King Power Stadium.
The electric start to life under Ruud van Nistelrooy has faded for Leicester City, with the home side going through a rough patch in recent weeks. The Foxes have lost their last five Premier League games, and the run of results has dropped them to 19th in the standings. However, van Nistelrooy’s men bounced back with a morale-boosting 6-2 win over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round.
As for Crystal Palace, the results have improved in recent weeks, and the Eagles have lost only one of their last nine Premier League games. While most outings have ended in a stalemate, the points have racked up, helping them create a five-point buffer to the drop zone. Meanwhile, their FA Cup clash ended in a 1-0 for Oliver Glasner and his charges.
The reverse fixture at the King Power Stadium saw Crystal Palace come from two goals down to hold Leicester City to a 2-2 draw, with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring a point-saving brace. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
Ruud van Nistelrooy has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Leicester City manager might be without six first-team players vs Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Kasey McAteer has resumed full training and will be in contention to take on Crystal Palace. However, Mads Hermansen (groin), Ricardo Pereira (hamstring), Wilfred Ndidi (thigh), and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (knee) remain on the sidelines, while Odsonne Edouard is ineligible to take on his parent club. Meanwhile, Jannik Vestergaard requires a late fitness test to determine his availability.
Jakub Stolarczyk will deputise for Hermansen between the sticks, with Leicester City lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Crystal Palace on Wednesday. The backline should feature James Justin, Conor Coady, Wout Faes, and Victor Kristiansen.
As for the midfield unit, Harry Winks should pair up with Boubakary Soumare in the double pivot. Bilal El Khannouss will reprise the no. 10 role, with Stephy Mavididi and former Crystal Palace star Jordan Ayew being the two wide attackers. Finally, there is no looking past Jamie Vardy as the central striker for the home side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Faes, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Ayew, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner will hope that the bout of illness that has struck his squad has subsided ahead of the trip to the King Power Stadium. The Crystal Palace manager might be without only three first-team players vs Leicester City on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, there is some good news, with Will Hughes recovering from a foot injury that forced him to miss the last two games. Meanwhile, Dean Henderson, Maxence Lacroix, Tyrick Mitchell, and Jean-Philippe Mateta will hope to have recovered from the recent bouts of illness. Meanwhile, Adam Wharton and Matheus Franca remain on the sidelines due to their groin issues.
Dean Henderson will take his usual spot between the sticks if he is fit and available. Crystal Palace will line up in a 3-4-3 formation in front of the Englishman vs Leicester City on Wednesday. The central defensive unit should feature Trevoh Chalobah, Maxence Lacroix, and Marc Guehi.
Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will be the two wing-backs, with the duo providing the width in the final third. As for the midfield unit, Jefferson Lerma and Abdoulaye Doucoure will pair up in the middle of the park. Ismaila Sarr and Eberechi Eze will take creative charge for the away side, with Jean-Philippe Mateta spearheading the Crystal Palace attack against Leicester City.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze
Key Stats
- Leicester City are unbeaten in their last four Premier League home games vs Crystal Palace (W3 D1), with the most recent meeting ending in a 0-0 stalemate in October 2022. Meanwhile, having won four consecutive Premier League games against Leicester between 2017 and 2019, the Eagles have emerged victorious in only one of their last nine outings against the Foxes (D4 L4).
- Leicester City have lost their last five Premier League games – the longest ongoing losing run in this season’s competition – while conceding 2+ goals each time. The Foxes have not lost 6+ successive league matches while shipping more than once in each defeat (run of 7) since April 2001.
- Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last five away league games (W2 D3). In their history, the Eagles only went unbeaten in six successive top-flight away games without losing between October 1990 and February 1992.
- Leicester City have kept the fewest clean sheets of any side in the Premier League this term (1). The Foxes have recorded only two shutouts in their last 43 games in the competition – the joint-fewest over a run of 43 games by any side in the competition’s history, along with West Bromwich Albion from December 2002 to January 2005 and Burnley from April 2022 to May 2024.
- Only Jorgen Strand Larsen (51) has made more hold-ups in the Premier League this season than Jean-Philippe Mateta (44).
Player to Watch
Jamie Vardy
The ageless wonder is our Player to Watch for Wednesday’s game, even though Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta were also viable candidates for this section. However, for Leicester City to take anything from Wednesday’s clash, they need the veteran striker at his best.
Only Erling Haaland (16) has received more through balls from open play in the Premier League this season than Jamie Vardy (11). Meanwhile, all other Leicester City players combined have only received eight through balls. The home side will need Vardy to latch on to those passes and find the back of the net this midweek.
Prediction
Leicester City 1-2 Crystal Palace
The convincing win over Queens Park Rangers would have been a shot in the arm of the Leicester City players. However, Crystal Palace will present a much more stiff challenge for the home side, even though Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men will take the game to their visitors.
The Eagles are on a solid run on the road, while Leicester City cannot buy a win in the Premier League. So, while a closely contested affair is on the cards, the hosts do not have the means to take anything from Wednesday’s clash. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Oliver Glasner and his charges.
