Injury-hit Arsenal make the trip to the King Power Stadium to take on the relegation-threatened Leicester City in a bid to keep up the pressure on Liverpool.
VAR remains a big subject for debate around Premier League circles, and last weekend, Leicester City would have rued the lack of assistance from the video booth, with things not getting any easier with the upcoming visit of Arsenal.
Following a late winner from Harry Maguire, who was clearly offside for the goal, Ruud van Nistelrooy marked his return to Old Trafford with an unlucky defeat in the FA Cup and even went on to coin the term ‘offside time’ in relation to the goal scored in ‘Fergie time’.
On to the matters in the Premier League, Leicester City had shown some promise in their attempts to revive the season after a dreadful run. The Foxes had lost seven top-flight games in a row and were winless in eight before they secured a morale-boosting win over Tottenham away from home to climb out of the relegation zone momentarily.
However, in the most recent matchday, the Foxes were thumped by Everton 4-0 and saw Wolves beat Aston Villa, which ensured van Nistelrooy’s side returned to the drop zone. They could have an early chance to climb out of the danger zone when they face Arsenal in the early kickoff on Saturday, as a win at the King Power Stadium will at apply pressure on Wolves, who have a tough task against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will play for the first time in ten days, having bowed out of the FA Cup in the third round against Manchester United. Much like last year, the Gunners took the opportunistic gap in their fixture scheduling to make the trip to Dubai for a warm-weather camp, which turned sour in the end.
Arsenal fans were hoping the team would return after this mini-break like they did last year, but the group came back with a significant injury to Kai Havertz. The German international has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury suffered in training, which further depletes Mikel Arteta’s attacking options ahead of a crucial part of the season.
The Gunners ended up exiting the Carabao Cup with yet another loss to Newcastle United before the mini-break. However, their most recent Premier League fixture saw Arteta’s side thump Manchester City at the Emirates with a 5-1 scoreline, as the Gunners boss will want to keep that momentum flowing ahead of their visit to Leicester City.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
Compared to Arsenal, Ruud van Nisteorooy has far fewer concerns with the fitness of his squad, although there are some key doubts ahead of this big clash on Saturday. Leicester City are sweating on the fitness of veteran striker Jamie Vardy, especially considering the former Premier League winner is only trailing Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane for strikes against the Gunners.
There are also concerns with Jannik Vestergaard and Victor Kristiansen ahead of this home clash. However, Riccardo Pereira is still a few weeks away from making a return, while Abdul Fatawu Issahaku will not play again this season.
Van Nistelrooy will have a strong enough group of players to choose from as he looks to select his best options to stand a chance against the Gunners. Wout Faes and Caleb Okoli are expected to be at the centre of defence, with James Justin and Luke Thomas in the full-back roles. Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare are the likely choices for the central midfield berth, meaning Harry Winks will have to settle for a bench role.
Bilal El Khannouss will be the likely choice to play in the attacking midfield role ahead of Facundo Bounanotte. At the same time, Bobby De Cordova-Reid has made himself big with a goal at Old Trafford to start ahead of former Arsenal youth product Stephy Mavididi. Jordan Ayew, and probably Vardy will complete the attacking setup, although, in the potential absence of the latter, Patson Daka might lead the line.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Thomas; Ndidi, Soumare; De Cordova-Reid, El Khannouss, Ayew; Vardy
Arsenal
The Gunners suffered yet another blow with Kai Havertz’s injury, and the German international will miss the remainder of the season. It is the latest in a long list of attacking absentees, as Gabriel Martinelli also suffered a hamstring problem in Arsenal’s loss to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-final, which will see him miss at least a month of action.
With Gabriel Jesus out for the season and Bukayo Saka only beginning his rehabilitation following hamstring surgery, Arteta has very limited options to choose from ahead of this trip to Leicester. On paper, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling are the only fit attackers at the moment, as the trio are expected to start in the frontline on Saturday.
Beyond that, Ben White is close to making a return, although there are doubts about whether he will be a match-fit to feature against Leicester City. He might be a bench option, though, and relieve Jurrien Timber at some point in the game, which is a boost for Arsenal in a lot of ways.
The defensive line is set to remain unchanged, with Myles Lewis-Skelly likely to start at left-back ahead of Riccardo Calafiori. Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Declan Rice will assume their midfield roles, as this area will be the key factor in this clash on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling
Key Stats
- Leicester City have one win in their last ten games in the Premier League.
- Leicester have lost eight of their last nine matches in the Premier League.
- Arsenal are undefeated in their last 14 Premier League games.
- Arsenal have won their last six matches against Leicester in all competitions.
- Jamie Vardy has scored more Premier League goals against Arsenal than he has vs any other opponent (11) and only Harry Kane (14) and Wayne Rooney (12) have netted more often against the Gunners in the competition.
Player to Watch
Leandro Trossard
The Belgian attacker has a big role to play and hold the fort for Arsenal in the next phase in the attacking third, as many of his colleagues are out injured. Trossard has a massive responsibility to essay, something Mikel Arteta would have hoped was not the case given the context of all the injuries.
The key factor here is how efficient Arsenal are going to be in front of the goal, and Arteta will want early strikes to have a cushion that will allow him to rest players as much as possible. Trossard will be key in this aspect, as he is probably Arsenal’s best attacker at the moment, and fans will hope he stays fit and fires the goals in all the games ahead.
Prediction
Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal
Leicester City can boast about the win they had against Tottenham as well as their fight at Old Trafford until late, but they are not in a good vein of form under Ruud van Nistelrooy in the Premier League. The Foxes are now set to face the best defence in the division and, once again, will struggle to break through the defensive ranks of Arsenal.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are reeling from attacking injury issues, but that does not take away the fact that they have a compact midfield and backline. The Gunners will keep a clean sheet, while players like Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri will prove instrumental in scoring the goals, among others, which points towards a win for the North Londoners on their trip to the King Power.
