Premier League: Points are at a Premium for Leicester and Leeds

Leicester City vs Leeds United

Two clubs who are struggling mightily so far in the 2022-23 Premier League season are set to go face-to-face this Thursday at the King Power Stadium.

Neither have won in their last two matches, although the hosts are in worse shape as of the moment. Leicester City are currently in the relegation zone, placing 19^th with only five points, while not far off are Leeds United – who are sitting at the 15^th spot with nine points.

The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are slightly favouring the Foxes since they’ll be playing at home, but it might be taken with a grain of salt. However, they can move to within one point of their visitors in the standings if they can prevail in this game.

Talking Points

Leeds United lacking the cutting edge

Turns out that the lengthy September break didn’t help Leeds United that much given that they’re still on a poor stretch of Premier League 2022 results.

Leeds United were reduced to 10 men in their goalless draw against Aston Villa, and then they lost back-to-back against Crystal Palace and league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.

Patrick Bamford is still trying his best to regain his deadly form after suffering multiple injuries last season. He had a glorious chance to open his scoring account this term against the Gunners, but he missed his penalty kick badly.

The English striker showed signs of progress, though, as he registered two shots on target. So, he might be given another shot this Thursday.

The Whites are having trouble finding the back of the net despite the number of chances that they’ve had recently. Simply put, they need to be sharper if they are going to get more points.

The bright side for Jesse Marsch is that he has a full squad to choose from and it’ll be up to him to draw out consistent production from his boys.

Although Jesse Marsch is under considerable scrutiny, well, at least he isn’t on the coaching hot seat compared to his counterpart this Thursday evening,

Leicester City to lose key playmaker

James Maddison will be unavailable for the Foxes in this game as he was booked for his fifth yellow card after a dive during their goalless draw against Crystal Palace in the last time out.

His suspension is going to be a huge blow for the Foxes as they’re desperate to move up on the table, and he’s their current top scorer with five goals and two assists.

Not only did Maddison get banned, but he most likely lost his chance of making it to England’s national team ahead of the World Cup since he had an underwhelming performance overall with manager Gareth Southgate watching from the stands.

Patson Daka and Harvey Barnes are going to be tasked to shoulder the offencive cudgels with Maddison out, while Jamie Vardy is another x-factor for Leicester City.

Scrutiny from the fans has been growing on Brendan Rodgers and it’s quite a tough time to be a Leicester City supporter right now.

History

Prior to Thursday, Leicester City had been hosts to Leeds United in 10 Premier League games. The Foxes have won six times, while the Whites have prevailed in four, and there have been no draws.

The Whites have lost each of their last three Premier League games on the road. They last lost more consecutively in a single English top-flight campaign in 2004 where they were eventually relegated.

Leeds United have also secured just one clean sheet in their last 16 league matches against Leicester City, which was a 2-0 away result back in March 2002.

Harvey Barnes has scored in his last five appearances versus Leeds United, with four of those meetings over the past two campaigns.

The 24-year-old winger was responsible for beating the Whites in their last encounter in March (1-0) and he’s keen on extending his scoring streak against their visitors.

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2022 odds are backing Leicester City to win, although their margin for error is small. The Foxes are installed at 2.25, while the Whites are pegged at 3.10 and chances for a draw are at 3.30 in the 1X2 market.

Both sides are eager to halt their respective slumps, but Leeds United are likely to do so this week since Leicester City look uninspired and bereft of confidence. This match, though, can go either way and Under 2.50 @ 1.75 is under betting option to consider for this upcoming showdown.

 

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