Formidable Polish champions ahead of Mission Impossible
The most exciting group in this year’s UEFA Europa League is undoubtedly Group C. After four matchdays, the league leaders and the bottom team are separated by only three points. Accordingly, everything is still possible, but on Thursday evening it could possibly come to a (preliminary) decision. For Premier League representatives Leicester, only a full success against Legia Warsaw counts, after all, the Foxes are currently only in third place.
The Polish underdogs started the group with two wins and are six points ahead of the big favourites from the island. With an away win, the Poles would fix their sensational progress. However, this tip seems extremely unlikely between Leicester and Legia Warsaw, not for nothing are betting odds of 17.00 offered. For a home win at the King Power Stadium, however, not even 1.20 is offered. The difference in class is enormous and cannot be dismissed out of hand.
For Rodgers’ team, the home match is an absolute must-win, as Leicester still have the difficult top match against SSC Napoli waiting for them on the last matchday. With a point loss against the Poles, the favourites would no longer have their progress in their own hands. The match kicks off on Thursday evening at 9 p.m.
Leicester – Statistics & current form
For much of last season, Leicester occupied a top-four spot, yet squandered qualification for the UEFA Champions League in the finish. This will be the Foxes’ second appearance in the Europa League group stage. Last season, Leicester won the group and laid the foundations in their home games. In 2020/21, all three home games were won, with Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel not conceding a single goal.
Season disappointing so far
This season, however, Brendan Rodgers’ side are still literally “up the creek”. The Foxes are not really getting going and have only 15 points after twelve games in the domestic championship. In comparison, Leicester had 24 points last season and 26 points at this time in 2019/20.
With just four wins, three draws and five defeats, Rodgers’ side currently have a negative record. Despite this, the long-time successful coach is far from being criticised and continues to be linked with a job at Manchester United.
Leicester’s current problems are manifold. The defence lacks stability (six more goals conceded than last year), the attack around Jamie Vardy is much weaker (eight fewer goals scored than last year). Of course, the home side has far more quality than the Polish visitors, but with the current odds on Leicester vs. Legia Warsaw, neither a home win nor a handicap win is recommended.
Predicted Leicester line-up:
Schmeichel – Vestergaard, Söyüncü, Amartey – Bertrand, Ndidi, Maddison, Castagne – Perez, Barnes – Daka
Last matches played by Leicester:
Premier League
11/20 2021 – Leicester 0 – 3 Chelsea London
11/07 2021 – Leeds 1 – 1 Leicester
Europa League Grp. C
11/04 2021 – Leicester 1 – 1 Spartak Moscow
Premier League
10/30 2021 – Leicester 0 – 2 Arsenal London
Carabao Cup
10/27 2021 – Leicester (4)2 – 2(2) Brighton
Legia Warsaw – Statistics & current form
The Polish champions had to cope with one or two departures in the summer of 2021, but it is now the end of November and the new arrivals should no longer be a foreign body. Currently, the 15-time Polish champions are looking back on their worst autumn in many years. The defence of the title is by no means an issue, rather the club must tremble about staying in the league.
Seven league defeats in a row
In the current table of the Polish Ekstraklasa, the champions are only 17th out of 18 teams. The gap to league leader Lech Poznan is already an incredible 23 points. The fact that the champions still have two catch-up games to play is only of limited help. Neither the championship nor another qualification for Europe are an issue at the moment.
The negative trend has continued for several weeks now, as Legia Warsaw have lost all of their last seven league games. Even a change of coach – championship coach Michniewicz was sacked at the end of October – has not yet brought the desired turnaround. Marek Golebiewski was promoted from the second team and has now been with the traditional club for five competitive matches. The only success came in the cup against a fourth-division team, but otherwise one defeat followed the next. Legia Warsaw have now lost seven league games in a row and have not won a league game since 19 September.
With these disastrous statistics, the high odds on Leicester against Legia Warsaw are absolutely justifiable. The home side are not in top form themselves, but still no bets are recommended here either.
Conditional problems?
During the double against SSC Napoli, it was quite noticeable that the Poles clearly lost quality in the final phase. In both the first and second legs, they conceded three goals in the last 15 minutes. Last weekend, in the 3-2 defeat against Gornik Zabrze (Lukas Podolski’s club), the Polish champions conceded the decisive goal in the 96th minute. This makes it a good bet for Leicester against Legia Warsaw on a late goal (goal after minute 77:59) at the bookmaker Bet365 tested by us.
Legia Warsaw’s likely line-up:
Miszta – Wieteska, Jedrzejczyk, Johansson – Mladenovic, Slisz, Josue, Ribeiro – Luquinhas, Emreli, Kastrati
Last matches played by Legia Warsaw:
Ekstraklasa
11/21 2021 – Gornik Zabrze 3 – 2 Legia Warsaw
11/07 2021 – Legia Warsaw 1 – 3 Stal Mielec
Europa League Grp. C
11/04 2021 – Legia Warsaw 1 – 4 SSC Napoli
Ekstraklasa
10/31 2021 – Legia Warsaw 0 – 2 Pogon Szczecin
FA Cup
10/28 2021 – Swit Skolwin 0 – 1 Legia Warsaw
Leicester – Legia Warsaw Direct Comparison / H2H Record
The first leg ended in a big surprise as the Polish hosts prevailed 1-0 thanks to a 31st minute goal. The Foxes were the dominant side for 90 minutes, with almost two-thirds of possession and no fewer than 18 shots, but goalkeeper Miszta was unable to get past them.
Leicester – Legia Warsaw Poland Tip
Two teams who can’t be happy at all with the way the season has gone so far. However, there is a big difference between the home side’s form and that of the hosts, as Legia Warsaw have been slipping from one defeat to the next for weeks. An away game on the island against a team of much higher quality thus becomes a mission impossible. However, alternative betting markets are needed for lucrative odds and winning opportunities to be found on Leicester vs Legia Warsaw.
Last time out, Legia Warsaw suffered two emphatic defeats to Napoli and with the Foxes at a similar level, the bookmakers are once again expecting a clear home win with plenty of goals. The Poles will be extremely destructive and defensive; with Leicester currently struggling offensively themselves, a high-scoring game is not as obvious as the betting odds suggest. Value is definitely given in the forecast for Leicester against Legia Warsaw on an under 2.5, after all, a 2.65 is offered here. Leicester already lost out in the first leg and Legia were already in a crisis of form then as well.
