Football - Premier League
16 January 2021 15:00
Two teams with European ambitions will meet in the Premier League this weekend when Ralph Hassenhuttl takes his Southampton side to the King Power Stadium to take on high-flying Leicester. Just like last season, Leicester find themselves in the thick of the hunt for Champions League football. The Foxes are third but could drop to fifth if Manchester City and Tottenham win on Wednesday night with all teams level on 32 points. Southampton meanwhile, are 7th and with a win, they could go level with their hosts as they too look to assert themselves in the European places.
Leicester returned to winning ways less than a fortnight ago with their 2-1 win over Newcastle after back-to-back draws in the league with Crystal Palace and Manchester United. The Foxes are now on a four-game unbeaten run in the league and have only lost one of their last nine games in all competitions after their 4-0 FA Cup win over Stoke last weekend. Brendan Rodgers will be looking to address his side’s home form with Leicester winning just three of their eight matches at the King Power Stadium so far in the Premier League. Leicester have lost two of their last four at home to Everton and Fulham and have picked up just 10 points from a possible 24 on home soil in this campaign.
As for Southampton, it’s been quite a dramatic turnaround at the club since the 9-0 humiliation they suffered at the hands of Leicester in their own backyard in October 2019. The Saints defeated the Champions Liverpool, 1-0, in their last league game and didn’t play in the FA Cup as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak at opponents Shrewsbury so they will be fresh and intent on building on that victory over the Reds. That win ended a four-game winless run for Southampton but they have conceded just two goals across their last six league games and have kept a clean sheet in four of those.
