Following a morale-boosting performance against Wolves, Leicester City will be full of confidence as they travel St. Mary’s to face Southampton on Saturday.
The Foxes registered an impressive 2:0 win over the newly promoted Premier League outfit last weekend and coach Claude Puel will be keen on continuing the momentum when they face Southampton.
The Saints were beaten by Everton in their last game and have accumulated only one point in their two games this season.
Leicester City – Team News
Leicester will be without the services of midfield Matty James, who is out with an Achilles problem. In addition, Caglar Soyuncu and Shinji Okazaki both lack match fitness and are not expected to feature.
Jamie Vardy, on the other hand, will start his three-match suspension following his red card against Wolves. The English international made a rash challenge on Matt Doherty and as a result, he will have to watch from the stands until the middle of September.
Predicted Leicester City Lineup
Defence
Kasper Schmeichel will be the man between the sticks for the Foxes this weekend. The Danish international kept his first clean sheet of the season against Wolves and will be determined to extend his tally this weekend.
In defence, Ricardo Pereira will be deployed as the right-back with Ben Chilwell starting on the opposite flank. While Ricardo has been a revelation since joining from Porto earlier this summer, Chilwell’s impressive leadership was one of the main reasons behind Leicester City’s success over Wolves last weekend.
The young defender completed five dribbles, seven tackles, four clearances and five blocks last week, which earned him a place in MAEPL’s top three defenders of the Gameweek 2 list. Thus, he will no doubt play a key role in this encounter.
Elsewhere, the absence of Caglar Soyuncu will see Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire start at the heart of Leicester’s four-man backline.
Midfield
Wilfred Ndidi and Nampalys Mendy will retain their places at the base of the 4-2-3-1 with James Maddison deployed further upfront to operate as the lone number ten.
The former Norwich starlet enjoyed a stunning game against Wolves as he often emerged as the brightest spark in the Leicester attack. He completed three dribbles, made three tackles and also managed a pass accuracy of 85%. But most importantly, he scored the second goal just at the stroke of half-time to give his side the upper hand.
Attack
Kelechi Iheanacho will replace Jamie Vardy in the number nine position for obvious reasons. The former Man City starlet will be accompanied by the wide-duo of Marc Albrighton and Demarai Gray.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
