MX23RW : Tuesday, December 24 20:52:33| >> :120:3627:3627:
[monks data]
Leicester logo
Premier League | Gameweek 33
Apr 26, 2021 at 8pm UK
King Power Stadium
Crystal Palace logo

Leicester
2 - 1
Crystal Palace

FT(HT: 0-1)
Zaha (12'), Castagne (50'), Iheanacho (80')
Riedewald (18')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Monday's Premier League clash between Leicester City and Crystal Palace, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Leicester City will be looking to further cement their spot in the Premier League top four when they welcome Crystal Palace to the King Power Stadium on Monday night.

The Foxes are currently third in the table, four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham United, while Palace occupy 13th position, some 11 points clear of the relegation zone.


Match preview

Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates scoring against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on April 22, 2021© Reuters

Back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and West Ham earlier this month had left Leicester looking over their shoulder in the Premier League, with the Foxes facing intense pressure from the teams behind them.

It has been a good week for Brendan Rodgers's side, though, as they booked their spot in the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Southampton before recording a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion in the league on Thursday.

The success over the Baggies was particularly important as it has left them in third position, one point clear of fourth-placed Chelsea and four clear of fifth-placed West Ham, with a game in hand on both sides.

Liverpool dropped points at home to Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon, meanwhile, and with Tottenham Hotspur not in league action this weekend due to the EFL Cup final, Leicester have a huge chance to put some ground between themselves and the chasing pack in this match.

The Foxes have actually lost seven of their 16 home league matches this term, but they recorded a 3-0 win over Palace when they welcomed the Eagles for the corresponding game in 2019-20.

Crystal Palace's Michy Batshuayi celebrates scoring their first goal against Everton in the Premier League on April 5, 2021© Reuters

Palace, meanwhile, have not actually been in action since the 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea on April 10, meaning that they will have had a 16-day rest by the time that this game begins.

The Eagles have won just one of their last six in the league but are not in any relegation danger at this stage, currently sitting 11 points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, with two games in hand on the Cottagers.

Roy Hodgson's side are only two points clear of 15th-placed Newcastle United but sit just six points behind 11th-placed Aston Villa, meaning that their position could change a lot in the coming weeks.

There are expected to be a number of changes at Selhurst Park this summer, with the manager's future being called into question and a lot of players coming to the end of their contracts.

Palace's recent record over Leicester is actually extremely impressive, losing just two of their last eight Premier League games with the Foxes, recording four victories in the process.

Leicester City Premier League form:
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W

Leicester City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W

Crystal Palace Premier League form:
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L



Team News

Leicester City midfielder Harvey Barnes is taken off injured against Arsenal on February 28, 2021© Reuters

Leicester will again be without the services of Harvey Barnes and James Justin on Monday due to knee injuries, while Wes Morgan is still struggling with a back problem.

The Foxes are otherwise in good shape, though, and there are not expected to be many changes from the side that took to the field against West Brom on Thursday evening.

Ricardo Pereira could come in for Luke Thomas, but James Maddison, Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho should all retain their positions in the final third of the field.

Wesley Fofana was withdrawn against the Baggies just past the hour, but the centre-back is fit to start on Monday and should again be a part of a back three for Rodgers's side.

As for Palace, Mamadou Sakho, James McCarthy, Connor Wickham, James Tomkins, Nathaniel Clyne, Wayne Hennessey and Nathan Ferguson remain unavailable for selection.

Sakho, Tomkins, Wickham and Ferguson have all been back on the training field since the Chelsea match, but this match will come too soon.

Gary Cahill has an outside chance of recovering from a minor problem to make the starting XI, though, while Michy Batshuayi is available after being unable to face parent club Chelsea last time out.

Hodgson could ultimately decide to select the same side that took to the field against the Blues, but Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend are among the options for change.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu; Pereira, Ndidi, Tielemans, Castagne; Maddison; Iheanacho, Vardy

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Kouyate, Cahill, Van Aanholt; Ayew, Milivojevic, Riedewald, Eze; Benteke, Zaha


SM words green background

We say: Leicester City 2-0 Crystal Palace

Leicester were excellent against West Brom on Thursday, and we can see a similar outcome on Monday evening. Palace do not have an awful lot to play for at this stage of the season, but the same cannot be said for Leicester, who now have a chance to cement their spot in the Champions League places.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:



ID:444689:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect12432:
Written by
Matt Law

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leicester City win with a probability of 64.04%. A draw had a probability of 21.6% and a win for Crystal Palace had a probability of 14.34%.

The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.54%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.7%) and 2-1 (9.56%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.19%), while for a Crystal Palace win it was 0-1 (5.43%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Leicester City would win this match.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Leicester vs Crystal Palace

Leicester City
78.4%
Draw
9.3%
Crystal Palace
12.3%
227
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Crystal Palace's Mamadou Sakho looks dejected as he leaves the pitch after being shown a red card on December 3, 2019
Read Next:
Crystal Palace receive triple injury boost before Leicester clash
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!