Leicester v Brighton: Preview, including key battle
Leicester City host Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday night and will hope to respond to Saturday’s disappointing draw with Watford.
After the postponement of the football season, it was great to have the Foxes back on our screens, right?
Despite Craig Dawson’s composed overhead-kick in injury-time, football is back and returns on Tuesday night as City welcome Graham Potter’s side.
Brighton will travel confidently after they picked up their first victory in 2020 on Saturday after coming from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1. Goals from Lewis Dunk and Neil Maupay means the Seagulls are now five points off the relegation zone.
However, history doesn’t lie: Leicester are unbeaten in the previous five encounters when facing Brighton. Their record against the current top six is also a sight for sore eyes. The only point they have picked up is in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the AMEX.
For Leicester, with the FA Cup showdown with Chelsea on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers’s men will need to remain focused in the league if Champions League qualification is secured. After Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday, the Foxes will need to respond well to stay ahead of the Blues.
Last season, Jamie Vardy scored the winner in the same fixture in front of Rodgers after his appointment.
With the positive performance from Demarai Gray on Saturday, a starting role may be on the cards for the winger. The Birmingham-born opened the scoring in last year’s 2-1 victory against the Seagulls.
Key Battle: Neal Maupay v Caglar Soyuncu
Against Arsenal, Maupay came under scrunity for his challenge on Bernd Leno. After forcing the Gunners goalkeeper to be stretchered off, the former-Brentford striker struck the winner in injury-time.
With Arsenal pursuing with Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi in central defence, Maupay enjoyed a succesful afternoon at the AMEX. Completing 78.9% of his passes, Maupay scored with his second shot on goal after easing through the lacklusture defence.
Despite being a striker, Maupay has conceded more fouls than Soyuncu in the same amount of appearances. With City’s high line and aggressive pressing, the battle between the two could be pivotal in the outcome of the match.
Unlike Arsenal, if Leicester can manage to shackle Maupay, the Foxes could secure their first three points of Project Restart. Below is my predicted Leicester City XI for the Seagulls clash:
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Kasper Schmeichel; James Justin, Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Ben Chilwell; Wilfred Ndidi; James Maddison, Dennis Praet; Ayoze Perez, Gray; and Vardy.