One of the surprise stories to begin the 2015-16 season has been the magnificent form of Leicester City, but Claudio Ranieri’s men next face a Southampton team high on confidence after an impressive win against Chelsea last time out.
Very few in the footballing scene, or even the more hopeful of supporters, could have said that they predicted Leicester to be sitting in fifth at the second international break, but consistently good performances see them deservedly positioned. The Foxes have their attacking players largely to thank for this, with the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy having terrific starts leading to the equal second-highest goal tally in the league with 17. On the defensive side, however, things do not look as positive with 15 goals conceded, no other team in the top three quarters of the table letting in that many.
Southampton, on the other hand, sat ninth going into the break which many would have been happy with after some very shaky passages in their early campaign. Fairly poor showings in the Premier League combined with a disappointing Europa League exit saw the Saints in a none too impressive position early on. Without the distraction of European football though, they look a side renewed and have quickly pushed themselves back into the top-half of the table. Going into this match the team will be in high spirits after defeating Chelsea 1-3 at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago.
Key Battle – Riyad Mahrez vs Ryan Bertrand
Riyad Mahrez has been one of the most exciting players in the 2015-16 season so far and has been a driving force behind Leicester’s run to the upper-echelons. After already expressing his disappointment in missing out in his side’s match against Norwich City before the international break, the Algerian looks hungry to return to action. Pacey, a good dribbler and lethal in front of goal at the moment, the 24-year-old is sure to cause some headaches for his opposite number.
Should Mahrez make his way back into the starting XI the man who looks to be taking on the job will be Ryan Bertrand. Knee injury kept the Englishman from making an appearance until the seventh round fixture against Swansea City. but now he sits back in the first-choice lineup. The 26-year-old has looked comfortable slotting back in and adds an attacking element to his fullback play that the side were sorely lacking in his absence.
Team News
The Saints confirmed that Shane Long will be out for a few weeks due to an ankle injury sustained while playing with the Irish national team, yet Ronald Koeman has indicated that Jordy Clasie may be in line to get his first minutes for the club after returning from injury to play 60 minutes of a friendly with Ajax.
Nathan Dyer may be available to Claudio Ranieri after similarly playing in a friendly during the break, while Mahrez and Jeffrey Schlupp are both going to be assessed before the game after returning from national team duties for Algeria and Ghana respectively.
Head-to-Head
Southampton hold the advantage over past history, winning 21 of the 50 total meeting between the sides. The games ended in stalemate 14 times and the Foxes took the three points on 15 occasions.
Previous Meeting
The last meeting saw Leicester win 2-0 at King Power Stadium thanks to a Mahrez brace. Conversely, the game before that was a 2-0 victory for the Saints at St. Mary’s Stadium, this time with Long netting twice.
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Prediction
With two of the deadliest strikers in the league at the moment coming head-to-head, in the form of the Foxes’ Jamie Vardy and the Saints’ Graziano Pellè, this match seems almost certain to have goals. Defensive units will be very much under pressure and will have to deal with quick, strong and confident attacking players. The two teams could very much cancel each other out in a high scoring game.
Southampton 2 Leicester City 2
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