First will travel to third in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon as Leicester City bid to continue their assault on the title with a visit to Arsenal.

The Gunners are one of just two sides to have beaten Leicester in the league this season and another victory at the Emirates would see Arsene Wenger's side close the gap on the leaders to just two points.

Arsenal

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At the start of January, Arsenal sat atop the Premier League after recording a 1-0 win over Newcastle United. A run of four without a victory led to the club's supporters fearing a collapse, but Wenger's side got their title challenge back on track with a comfortable 2-0 win at Bournemouth last weekend.

The capital side will enter this match in third position in the table - behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference - but know that a victory would take them above Spurs and to within two points of leaders Leicester. With March not too far away, there are currently four teams in the title race and this weekend could prove vital as Man City also welcome Spurs on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal's record from 25 league games this season reads: won 14, drawn six and lost five. They are actually the lowest scorers in the top four (39), but have only conceded 22 times, which is the joint-second best defensive record in the league alongside Manchester United. Their recent four-game winless run started with a 3-3 draw at Liverpool and ended with a 0-0 draw against Southampton, but the win over Bournemouth last weekend would have seen confidence rise.

There is little getting away from the fact that it is a massive February and start of March for the Gunners, who will travel to Manchester United in their next league match at the end of the month, before travelling to Spurs on March 5. Wenger's side also still have Everton to play at Goodison in March, making it a tough few weeks for the club.

There is also the small matter of a Champions League last-16 two-legged affair against Barcelona to come, with the first leg taking place at the Emirates on February 23. Sunday's match against Leicester is not quite a must-win, but defeat could well see Arsenal drop down to fourth by the end of the weekend.

The Gunners have a strong record against Leicester, however, having won 12 and lost none of their last 18 Premier League games with the Foxes, including all eight home meetings. Earlier this season, they recorded an impressive 5-2 victory at the King Power, which was the first of Leicester's two league defeats this term.

Recent form: WDDLDW
Recent form (all competitions): DDLWDW

Leicester

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Leicester's challenge for the Premier League title was expected to end a long time ago. Phrases such as 'the wheels will come off' and 'it will never last' were thrown at the Foxes after such a strong start, but with 13 games of the season remaining, it is they that sit five points clear at the top of the table.

When Claudio Ranieri was appointed head coach in the summer, many predicted that Leicester would face a battle against the drop. Even a push into the top six at this stage of the campaign would have been seen as a major surprise, but the Foxes are on the verge of completing what would be one of the most incredible stories of all time.

Incredibly, Leicester have only lost twice in the league this season, while they have found the back of the net on 47 occasions, which is the joint-highest total in the division alongside Man City. Those two teams met at the Etihad last weekend and it was Leicester that recorded a 3-1 win to continue their assault on the title.

Kasper Schmeichel has been immense between the sticks, while Wes Morgan, Robert Huth, Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante have all been excellent. It is difficult to say that Leicester would be where they are, however, without Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. The latter has 18 Premier League goals to his name this season, while Mahrez has 14, in addition to 10 assists.

Their last league defeat came at Liverpool on Boxing Day, but they are currently on a seven-game unbeaten run in the top flight. Even more impressively, since losing to Liverpool, they have only conceded twice in the league. Even if the Foxes are beaten at Arsenal, they will still be in a brilliant position in the table.

Leicester's run of matches over the next month are also very favourable. They will host Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion in their two after this one, before travelling to Watford and welcoming Newcastle United. There is still a long way to go in the title race, but the fairytale is showing no signs of coming to an end.

Recent form: DWDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WDLWWW

Team News

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Arsenal boss Wenger revealed at his pre-match press conference that he has no fresh injury concerns from the win over Bournemouth last time out.

Danny Welbeck is close to being available after returning to action for the Under-21 team, but this match will come too soon for the England international, while Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla are still weeks away from being fit.

Gabriel Paulista is expected to keep his spot in the team ahead of Per Mertesacker, while Theo Walcott and Francis Coquelin could start ahead of Mathieu Flamini and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

As for Leicester, January signing Daniel Amartey is in line for his first start after completing 90 minutes for the development squad earlier this week, but Matty James and Jeffrey Schlupp are still out of action.

Ranieri could stick with the same XI that beat Man City last weekend, meaning that Shinji Okazaki will partner Vardy in the final third of the field.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Coquelin; Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud

Leicester possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, Kante, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy

Head To Head

As touched upon, Arsenal have a very strong record against Leicester. The Gunners have won each of their last eight home Premier League meetings with the Foxes and 12 of the last 18 overall, remaining unbeaten in the process.

Earlier this season, Wenger's side recorded a 5-2 victory at the King Power and they were also 2-1 winners in the corresponding league match last season.

Arsenal also have two players that seem to enjoy facing Leicester - Alexis Sanchez has four goals in three Premier League games against the Foxes, while Walcott has netted in both of his league appearances against the table-toppers.

The Dugout Podcast

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We say: Arsenal 2-1 Leicester

This is obviously a massive game for both football clubs, but it would not be terminal if either were to be beaten. It is a bigger game for Arsenal than it is for Leicester.

With that in mind, we can see the Gunners just shading the points. Leicester will be more than happy to sit back and play on the counter, but Arsenal have the players to hurt the Foxes in the final third.

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