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Leicester logo
Premier League | Gameweek 36
Jul 16, 2020 at 6pm UK
King Power Stadium
Sheffield United logo

Leicester
2 - 0
Sheff Utd

Perez (29'), Gray (79')
Evans (75')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Egan (80'), Fleck (90+3')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Sheffield United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Premier League clash between Leicester City and Sheffield United, including team news and predicted lineups.

Two sides with clear targets in mind face off at the King Power Stadium on Thursday evening as out-of-form Leicester City take on a rejuvenated Sheffield United.

Leicester are hanging onto a top-four spot after winning one of their six matches since the restart, while United are back up to seventh following back-to-back victories.


Match preview

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers pictured on July 1, 2020© Reuters

Brendan Rodgers did not hold back following Leicester's shocking 4-1 collapse against Bournemouth on Sunday, admitting that his side are nowhere near Champions League level.

From looking top-four certainties before the restart to relying on other teams to drop points, a season that offered so much for City is at risk of completely crumbling.

Leicester took the lead against an out-of-sorts Bournemouth side through a Jamie Vardy strike, but a calamitous two-minute spell saw them concede twice and lose a man.

Bournemouth took advantage of Caglar Soyuncu's dismissal by running away with the win, making it six points from the last 18 on offer for Leicester.

Yet somehow they still remain in possession of fourth place, level on points with Manchester United following the Red Devils' 2-2 draw with Southampton on Monday.

That ultimately means that Leicester's fate remains in their own hands, but they face tricky games against Sheff Utd, Tottenham Hotspur and Man Utd to conclude the campaign.

Sheffield United's David McGoldrick scores against Chelsea in the Premier League on July 11, 2020© Reuters

One game at a time will be the mantra for Rodgers, and indeed opposite number Chris Wilder, who has to be a contender for the Manager of the Season award.

Wilder's men have recovered from a post-lockdown slump that saw them lose two and draw one of their first three matches back by taking 10 points from the last 12.

The Blades scored a dramatic late winner against fellow European chasers Wolverhampton Wanderers last week and followed that up with a 3-0 win against Chelsea on Saturday.

As far as performances go, that display was right up there as United crushed third-place Chelsea - a result that Leicester supporters would have celebrated just as wildly.

The Yorkshire club are one point behind Wolves in the final Europa League spot and have mid-table Everton and Southampton to come after this trip to the East Midlands.

With Leicester only five points better off, even a place in the Champions League cannot be entirely ruled out for United just yet in what has been a campaign to remember.

Leicester City's Premier League form: DDLWDL
Leicester City's form (all competitions): DLLWDL

Sheffield United's Premier League form: LLWDWW
Sheffield United's form (all competitions): LLWDWW


Team News

Ben Chilwell in action for Leicester City on June 20, 2020© Reuters

Soyuncu is banned for this match after being sent off against Bournemouth, possibly meaning just a second Premier League start for Ryan Bennett since joining on loan in January.

Daniel Amartey and Ricardo Pereira remain absent for Leicester, meanwhile, but Rodgers will hope to have James Maddison and Ben Chilwell back from injury.

Should Chilwell fail to recover in time, James Justin and Marc Albrighton may be used in a makeshift back four. Up top, Vardy needs one more goal to make this his joint-best Premier League season.

As for United, they remain without Luke Freeman and Leon Clarke, while John Fleck is touch-and-go after missing their last four matches.

John Lundstram is among those pushing for inclusion but, despite the quick turnaround in matches, Wilder is unlikely to make any changes from the Chelsea win.

David McGoldrick scored his first Premier League goals in that impressive victory and is looking to net in consecutive league matches for the first time since January 2019.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Albrighton, Bennett, Evans, Justin; Ndidi; Perez, Praet, Tielemans, Barnes; Vardy

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Basham, Egan, O'Connell; Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Osborne, Stevens; McBurnie, McGoldrick


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Leicester City 2-1 Sheffield United

This really is a huge game and one that both sides will be targeting victory from. Leicester's only two victories since February have come at the King Power Stadium, while United have gone four matches without an away win - losing 3-0 to Man Utd and Newcastle in that run - so we are backing the Foxes to edge this one.



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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 56.78%. A draw had a probability of 24.3% and a win for Sheffield United had a probability of 18.95%.

The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.24%) and 2-1 (9.52%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.43%), while for a Sheffield United win it was 0-1 (6.87%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Leicester City would win this match.


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Conor Coady in action for Wolves on September 19, 2019
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Crystal Palace121561017-78
19Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
20Southampton121110924-154


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