MY ACCOUNT
– Leicester look like a far less dangerous side in the absence of the injured James Maddison
– Fulham have returned from the international break with back-to-back wins
– Recommended bet: Fulham draw no bet
Fulham will go in search of their third successive Premier League victory when they travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Tuesday.
Leicester defender Wout Faes suffered a horror show at Anfield last Friday, scoring two own goals in a calamitous display that further stalled the Foxes’ recent revival.
It was tremendously unfortunate for the Belgian centre-back, who has added solidity and class to Brendan Rodgers’ rearguard since making his debut in mid-September. Still, his freakish brace saw the Foxes throw away a 1-0 lead against Liverpool to lose 2-1.
Faes will not be the only Leicester man cursing his luck as manager Rodgers saw his team head into the World Cup break on a run of four wins in five matches, but an injury to star man James Maddison and the disrupted schedule has seen his team return to action with back-to-back defeats.
He will be looking at this home match against Fulham as a chance to get back to winning ways, but with injuries continuing to undermine Rodgers’ team and the visitors enjoying an excellent campaign, there will be no easy points on offer.
Team news
Leicester striker Patson Daka lasted only 15 minutes at Liverpool before coming off with a hamstring strain while attacking midfielder James Maddison again looks set to miss out with a knee problem.
Full-backs Ryan Bertrand, Ricardo Pereira and James Justin are all still unavailable, with the latter out for the season. Centre-back Jonny Evans has also been ruled out, while midfielder Dennis Praet is a couple of weeks from returning.
Fulham attacker Neeskens Kebano will be out for several months with a ruptured Achilles, and fellow forward Manor Solomon will likely miss out as he regains fitness following a knee injury.
On-loan left-back Layvin Kurzawa has an outside chance of returning to make only his second appearance for the Cottagers.
The stats
Leicester went into the World Cup break having won four of their five last Premier League games, but Maddison’s excellent performances were central to those victories. He scored or assisted four goals in that run and was integral to the Foxes’ build-up play.
Maddison and Daka have been Leicester’s leading goal-creators this term, producing 0.9 and 0.77 goal involvements per 90 minutes in the Premier League. However, both look likely to miss out through injury.
While the Foxes have improved markedly since a dreadful start to the season saw them pick up just one point in their first seven league games, Leicester have yet to beat any side currently above them. All five victories have come in seven meetings with teams from the bottom seven.
Despite starting the season among the favourites for relegation, visitors Fulham could yet prove dark horses for a European place. They have lost only one of 12 matches against opponents outside the current top five, and four of their five defeats against the top teams have been by a single goal.
Prediction
Leicester were arguably slightly unfortunate at Anfield last time out, but Liverpool squandered other chances, and the Foxes offered relatively little in attack after taking a fourth-minute lead.
Their lack of cutting edge in the absence of Maddison and now Daka makes the Foxes a lesser proposition to the team who were flying before the international break, so adding under 1.5 Leicester goals to any Bet Builder combinations looks like a decent approach.
Rodgers’ men also face a Fulham side who have impressed following their promotion from the Championship, and they arrive at the King Power Stadium full of confidence after winning back-to-back games since the resumption of the Premier League.
Marco Silva’s men returned from the international break with a thumping 3-0 win at Crystal Palace and backed that up with a 2-1 defeat of Southampton.
Having gone six matches unbeaten against teams from outside the top four, the Cottagers will fancy their chances of getting at least a point at the King Power Stadium. Fulham draw no bet, which is available at 6/5 with LiveScore Bet, looks like the way to go for this midweek clash.
