Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League match between Leicester City and Bournemouth.
At the halfway mark of the campaign, Leicester are remarkably level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table, while Bournemouth accrued exactly half of the magical 40-point total most teams set themselves to stay up.
Who will kickstart their 2016 with a win at the King Power Stadium? Find out with our minute-by-minute updates below.
Afternoon all! Leicester City vs. Bournemouth is what we'll be focussing on here. Not long until kickoff, so let's get to the teams...
LEICESTER XI: Schmeichel; Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs; Mahrez, Kante, Drinkwater, Albrighton; Ulloa, Vardy
Subs: Schwarzer, De Laet, Wasilewski, King, Dyer, Inler, Okazaki
Subs: Schwarzer, De Laet, Wasilewski, King, Dyer, Inler, Okazaki
BOURNEMOUTH XI: Boruc, Daniels, Cook, Francis, Smith, Surman, Arter, Gosling, Ritchie, Stanislas, King
Subs: Federici, Distin, MacDonald, Pugh, Tomlin, Rantie, Murray
Subs: Federici, Distin, MacDonald, Pugh, Tomlin, Rantie, Murray
Both managers make one change, with Leonardo Ulloa preferred to Gokhan Inler for Leicester, while Junior Stanislas gets the nod over Marc Pugh for the Cherries.
Click here to see how the Premier League table looks before the 3pm kickoffs. Leicester are second and will go top if they better Arsenal's result against Newcastle. I'll keep you posted on that and any other big goals up and down the country.
We're just about ready for kickoff here, with both teams in their home colours today.
KICKOFF! Aaaand off we go! Can Leicester win for the first time in three having managed just one point against Liverpool and Man City?
Bournemouth scream for an early penalty as Arter feeds Stanislas on the left of the area and the winger's shot hits Morgan. It might have smacked into the Foxes' captain's arm, but it's never a penalty. His arm was near his body and did not move towards the ball.
BREAKING! Some big news away from the field now as PA report that Leicester have had a bid accepted for Birmingham City starlet Demarai Gray.
Bournemouth have started well here and I think they might get at least a point today. King threatens down the right, but his cutback is intercepted by Simpson just as Ritchie was about to run onto it.
Oooh! Mahrez almost delights the home fans with an audacious overhead kick from a tight angle that flies over the crossbar. Good attempt, but to score form there would have been out of this world. Really good start to this game!
Great first touch out wide from Bournemouth left-back Daniels, who then gets past one before his cross is cleared by Morgan.
MISS! Bournemouth should be in front. Francis's deep cross is headed back across goal by Stanislas and King heads wide unmarked from six yards.
Arter and Kante battle for the ball in the early stages at the King Power
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© Getty Images
Kante's job is usually to break up play in the middle of the park, but he gets forward here down the right and flashes over a dangerous cross that Smith heads up and away well at the back post with Albrighton lurking.
This is one of six 3pm kickoffs in the top flight and still we await the first goal!
There are also 10 games in the Championship which started 20-odd minutes ago and no goals in the second tier either. What's going on?!
Midway through the first half then and you'd have to say that Bournemouth have edged it so far. The Cherries have completed 172 passes compared to 78 by Leicester.
OFF THE POST! Oh, Jamie Vardy! The Premier League's joint top scorer collects Ulloa's shot in the area and has to shoot quickly with Boruc advancing. He toe-pokes it as hard as he can and the ball clangs back off the inside of the post.
Would the 2015 version of Jamie Vardy scored that? He's not scored in his last three and really didn't need to hit it that hard or that close to the corner.
UPDATE: Finally a goal in the Premier League and Championship as Patrick van Aanholt scores for Sunderland in the huge basement battle against Aston Villa. Probably bad news for Bournemouth that as Villa are so far adrift.
Stanislas is always a threat down the left for Bournemouth and he's just had a half-chance by cutting inside and curling high and wide from about 15 yards.
BOOKING! First yellow card to Cherries midfielder Arter for bringing down Kante.
CHANCE! Bournemouth are really playing well here, but you just worry that they'll regret some of these misses. The latest to fluff his lines is Gosling, who skies from 10 yards after great work down the right by King.
CLOSE! End-to-end stuff! Vardy threatens again as he collects a through-ball in the inside-left channel before dinking over the onrushing Boruc and agonisingly across the face of goal.
Good grief, that's confident goalkeeping from Schmeichel. The Dane lets Stanislas's inswining free kick go just over the bar after it bounced in the box. I think most would have caught that or tipped it over just to be safe.
After netting in 11 straight games earlier this season, Vardy seems to be lacking confidence a little now
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© Getty Images
We've had nine shots in total so far but none on target. King and Vardy guilty of missing two sitters at either end.
Just the one minute of added time at the King Power.
LEICESTER 0-0 BOURNEMOUTH
No goals here and that's the story in all but one of the six 3pm kickoffs in the top flight. Bournemouth have been the better side so far and missed a couple of great chances to lead the high-flying Foxes. We'll be back for the second half shortly.
LEICESTER SUB: A half-time change from the Foxes as on-loan winger Nathan Dyer takes Ulloa's place. That will see Vardy lead the line on his own
KICKOFF! The Foxes get us back underway. As it stands they remain second in the table as Arsenal are also being held at home by Newcastle.
Van Aanholt's goal for Sunderland against Villa was the only one in any of the six 3pm kickoffs. Not a great start to 2016!
SAVE! Vardy threatens at the start of the second half by turning on the edge of the box and firing low at goal, with Boruc palming it out for a corner.
CHANCE! And from the resulting set piece Morgan volleys the ball high over the bar from all of three yards! What a miss by the Foxes captain!
BOURNEMOUTH SUB: First change for the Cherries, with Glenn Murray on for King, who seems to be struggling with an injury.
UPDATE: We have a second goal of the afternoon as Anthony Martial gives Man Utd the lead at home against Swansea.
RED CARD! SIMON FRANCIS SENT OFF!
PENALTY TO LEIECESTER!
MISSED! MAHREZ MISSES!
Bad news for fantasy football managers everywhere as Mahrez has his penalty saved by Boruc. It was firmly-struck, but Boruc went the right way and pushed it out. Francis was sent off for bringing down Vardy as the last man in the area, but watching it back it seems that the Cherries captain got the ball. Really harsh!
Poor old Bournemouth. They were excellent in the first half but now have it all to do if they are to keep out Leicester in the remaining half an hour or so.
BOURNEMOUTH SUB: Howe understandably makes a change to shore up the backline and it's Sylvain Distin on for Arter.
LEICESTER SUB: Back to 4-4-2 for Leicester as Okazaki takes Albrighton's place. It's going to be very difficult for Bournemouth to see this out.
Both teams have still got one change to make, although Leicester don't really have another attacking option on the bench as Dyer and Okazaki have both already come on.
Mahrez and Simpson link up well down the right, with the latter just overrunning the ball before his cross on the slide is scooped up by Boruc.
If Bournemouth are able to see this out then you'd have to say that they deserve a point. They've been unfairly reduced to 10 men and, so far, Leicester haven't done enough to wear them down.
LEICESTER SUB: It's Ritchie de Laet for Simpson at right-back.
And the right-sider is straight into the action as he crosses low and finds Kante, who stabs wide on the stretch. Tough chance, but he'll be annoyed not to have got it on target.
CLOSE! Bournemouth have defended so well but they almost concede in slapstick circumstances as Fuchs's low corner hits the side-netting with Boruc scrabbling to reach it.
Corner for the Foxes as Mahrez's cheeky attempt from a tight angle is pushed wide by Boruc.
CLOSE! Vardy meets the resulting corner and a clever flick at the near post loops just wide. Great effort.
Not his day so far
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© Getty Images
Drinkwater tries his luck but pulls a left-footed effort wide. Can Bournemouth hang on?
Bournemouth are doing so well to restrict Leicester to long-range efforts, with Kante the latest to try his luck. He also misses the target.
FOUR minutes of added time to go.
It looks for a moment like Marriner has given another Leicester penalty, but Marriner is in fact pointing for a goal kick. Gosling definitely made contact with Vardy and that was more like a penalty than the one that was actually given earlier.
Into the final minute and Bournemouth have a throw-in. It looks like they're going to secure a point.
FULL-TIME: LEICESTER 0-0 BOURNEMOUTH
Three without a win now for Leicester, who fall two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table.
Full credit must go to Bournemouth for defending pretty well throughout. They appeared to have Francis sent off very harshly and perhaps justice was done when Mahrez's penalty was saved by Boruc.
Thanks very much for joining SM this afternoon. I'll leave you with our match report and wish you a good rest of the weekend!
Written by
Pascal Lemesre
Pascal Lemesre
