MY ACCOUNT
– Southampton have lost each of their last five Premier League home games
– Leicester have won three of their four away trips to teams below them in the table
– Recommended bet: Leicester to win
Southampton and Leicester both suffered FA Cup defeats to lower league opposition in midweek, with Saints humiliated in front of their own fans by a Grimsby side who sit in the bottom half of League Two.
The Foxes’ exit at the hands of promotion-chasing Championship side Blackburn was slightly less embarrassing, but both managers will be demanding a response and can at least now fully focus on their Premier League relegation scrap.
For Southampton, the need for an upturn in results is getting increasingly urgent as they sit bottom of the Premier League, and another defeat could see them cut adrift from the rest of the scrapping pack.
Interim manager Ruben Selles has been appointed as Southampton’s third manager of a dreadful 2022-23 campaign, but after a run of 10 defeats in 12 league games and a chastening FA Cup exit, he would do well to see clearly through the chaos enveloping the St Mary’s Stadium.
Team news
Southampton’s Valentino Livramento remains out with an ACL injury, and fellow full-back Juan Larios is still a couple of weeks away from returning from a hamstring injury.
However, centre-back Mohamed Salisu and striker Che Adams could both return after nearly a month out injured.
Leicester suffered a significant blow last weekend when key midfielder Youri Tielemans was ruled out for six weeks with ankle ligament damage, but another star man should return this weekend with James Maddison having recovered from illness.
James Justin is likely to miss the rest of the season, and fellow Foxes full-back Ryan Bertrand is still a couple of weeks from returning from a knee injury, but centre-back Jonny Evans has an outside chance of making the bench.
The stats
While Southampton won 2-1 away at Leicester in their third Premier League game of 2022-23, they have not won any of their last five home meetings with the Foxes, losing three, including the famous 9-0 rout in 2019.
Saints have also lost 10 of their last 12 league games, with both outliers coming away from home in surprise victories at Chelsea and Everton. However, they were fortunate in those games, with their hosts having more possession and a higher expected goals rating on both occasions.
St Mary’s has been no safe haven for the struggling Saints, either, with Southampton losing each of their last five Premier League home games and last winning in front of their own fans nine league games ago in a 2-1 August success against Chelsea.
Leicester have lost each of their last three matches, but two came against Premier League high-fliers Manchester United and Arsenal, with the Foxes giving a good account of themselves in both games. The other defeat came when a much-changed starting XI lost to Blackburn in the FA Cup.
Prior to that, Leicester had gone four matches without defeat, beating Tottenham 4-1 and Aston Villa 4-2 in that run, seeing off Walsall in the FA Cup and holding in-form Brighton to a 2-2 draw.
Prediction
Neither side is in the sort of form that inspires huge confidence, but Leicester’s recent run has to be put into context given the quality of opposition faced and the relatively low-priority status of the FA Cup to manager Brendan Rodgers.
The Foxes struggled to create any chances of note against Arsenal in their last league outing, but the absence of James Maddison was a massive factor, and the likely return of the playmaker should transform their attacking play.
A Leicester team who, prior to tough tests against Manchester United and Arsenal, had scored ten goals in three league games will fancy getting stuck into a frail Saints side, so adding over 1.5 Leicester goals looks an interesting option to bump up the odds in Bet Builder selections.
However, a straight bet on the away win looks the best approach as Leicester are better than their league placing suggests and are a different side with Maddison in the team, while Southampton look devoid of confidence and have a dreadful home record.
Back Leicester to win, available at 13/8 with LiveScore Bet.
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