Premier League: Foxes Ready to Feast on the Eagles

Leicester City vs Crystal Palace

Leicester City host Crystal Palace in the Monday night Premier League fixture; a game which means much more to the Foxes than it does the Eagles.

Roy Hodgson’s Palace are comfortable in 13^th place on 38 points and 11 clear of the relegation zone and they will arrive at the King Power Stadium depleted in numbers. Their hosts are flying high in third place and have their eyes on Champions League qualification, as well as an FA Cup final round the corner.

But Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes still have the painful memory of losing their fourth place on the final day of the 2019/20 campaign, losing to Manchester United at the end of a season spent entirely in the top four…until that last match.

Talking Points

Leicester can cement their position

The Premier League 2021 betting odds have Leicester City heavily odds on to finish in the top four, but that won’t do anything to soothe the nerves of Foxes’ fans even though Rodgers team is dripping with talent and don’t look like bottling this time around. Their position has improved over the weekend too as, among the chasing pack, there were points dropped. Liverpool threw away two at home to Newcastle when they conceded a 95^th minute equaliser having led from the third minute, and West Ham and Chelsea were pitched together in the Saturday tea-time fixture; which all means the Foxes are bound to start their match against Crystal Palace in third place in the Premier League table.

opacity 0

CLICK HERE
TO SEE UPDATED ODDS

UEFA EURO 2020

Leicester come into the game on the back of an impressive 3-0 victory over West Brom as Jamie Vardy scored his 13^th league goal of the season; the veteran poacher has made seven assists to the benefit of his strike partner Kelechi Iheanacho, who was also on target against the Baggies and has taken his tally up to nine goals in the campaign.

The hosts will be without winger Harvey Barnes for this match but with Youri Tielemans and James Maddison set to start, the Foxes have plenty of ammunition. They would dearly love to nail down a top four place before the FA Cup final next month. The Foxes are at SBOTOP odds of 2.53 to win that trophy and if they can do both it will be a highly satisfactory campaign for Rodgers’ ever improving group.

Crystal Palace short on numbers

Head coach Roy Hodgson has done a fine job, yet again, to keep the Eagles away from danger. But while the Foxes will be at near full strength the visitors are depleted. It’s been two weeks since Palace have played, but they will still be without Mamadou Sakho, James McCarthy, James Tomkins and Nathanial Clyne, while James McArthur is doubtful.

Last time out the Eagles were thumped 4-1 by Chelsea, but before that they earned a 1-1 draw away to another top four chasing team, Everton. And they have been boosted by the return of talisman and top striker Wilfried Zaha who has scored nine goals. The Eagles look much more dangerous with him in the side and he relieves the pressure on centre forward Christian Benteke, who has struggled again this season but has increased his goal tally to six.

Crystal Palace are a far better Premier League team when Wilfried Zaha is on the pitch — Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha reacts during their Premier League game vs Chelsea

The return from injury of wide man Jeffrey Schlupp adds pace to the visitors attack but the Eagles can tough it out, and they tend to pick up their points with a strong rearguard action and by taking their chances when they come. Skipper Luka Milivojevic scored a crucial penalty in a recent 1-0 win over West Brom which all but guaranteed their safety.

History

The head to head results, when Leicester and Crystal Palace have met in the Premier League era, couldn’t be closer. Both teams have won 15 of the clashes and there have been 11 draws.

Last season Rodgers’ team came out on top home and away, winning 3-0 at the King Power and 2-0 at Selhurst Park, but the Eagles earned a point this season when the two teams met in South London back in December.

The Foxes recent Premier League 2021 results have been better than the Eagles’ and they have won four from the last six, in all competitions while their opponents have won just once in that time.

Betting Tip

	Leicester City vs Crystal Palace	Leicester City First Half Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.19
	April 27, 03:00 (GMT+8)

Leicester City are hot favourites to come out on top in this Monday night fixture at odds of 1.46, with Palace at 6.76 and the draw at 3.88.

The hosts have had two losses in the last six games, to West Ham and Manchester City, and they will be keen to extend their current winning run to three. They came out of the blocks at lightning speed against West Brom, racing into a 3-0 lead by the break and I expect a similar pattern to this game.