Two teams at the opposite ends of the table face-off in what is sure to be an enticing encounter, as the undefeated Leicester City are looking to exert their dominance over a desperate Stoke City side.
Leicester are going through one of the best periods in their history and this is down to great recruiting and everything else going right for Claudio Ranieri. Riyad Mahrez is looking to have improved immensely and new signing Gokhan Inler has bolstered the squad.
Meanwhile, Stoke City have not defeated a team in the Premier League since their 6-1 win against Liverpool nearly four months ago. There have been some games against strong opposition where Stoke have performed adequately and even better than expected, however, a draw against Norwich City and a loss to West Ham cannot be ignored.
The Potters need a resurgence of form in this game to be considering a top-half finish, while Leicester need to show the world that they are no longer a relegation favourite.
Key Battle – Riyad Mahrez vs Stoke City’s defence.
The man who has been in extraordinary form will be targeted by Stoke’s midfielders and defenders in a bid to stop him scoring at all costs. Last week Aston Villa also tried this, but the Algerian still came up with two assists by the end of the game. He has recorded the equal highest number of goals so far this season and looks deadly every time he has the ball at his feet.
The Stoke City defence will need to mark him closely all game similarly to how Aston Villa successfully targeted Mahrez for the first-half last weekend. They will also need to watch out for Leicester’s other talented attackers Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki.
Team News and Expected Lineups
Leicester City are aiming to keep their great form and changes to the starting XI are not needed. Claudio Ranieri could take the risk of resting players because of Stoke’s mediocre form, but that could end up being a bad decision for the Italian. For the most part, the team should be the same or similar than the side that faced Aston Villa last week. A goal from Nathan Dyer may push him into the starting setup.
Stoke City will need to find a replacement for Glen Johnson, who has injured his hamstring and Mark Hughes will need to change his personnel after some poor individual performances against Arsenal. A fresh face will almost certainly join the lineup in Bojan, who has not started for the Potters in a very long time. The manager will almost certainly change their tactical plans to ensure better play throughout the midfield.
Head-to-head
Leicester City have won 31 times against Stoke, who have taken the rewards in this fixture on 33 occassions. The two teams have also drawn 33 games.
Previous meeting
The most recent game between the two sides was in January last season where Stoke were the victorious club. Bojan scored the winning goal, which may happen in this game if he makes his return to the starting XI. Leicester’s record signing Andrej Kramaric played in his first game for the club, but he is not expected to start in this weekend’s match.
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Prediction
This will definitely not be an easy game for the Foxes. Stoke will surely come out of the changing rooms energised and ready to win, but of course Leicester want to keep their great table position. Ranieri’s side has immense quality and are in exceptionally great form, however, do not expect Stoke to roll over if they go one goal down.
Leicester City 2 Stoke City 1
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