Leicester host overmatched promoted side
UPDATE: The fixture has already been cancelled due to several positive tests. A make-up date is still pending.
The show must go on – despite the ongoing crisis in Great Britain, the English Premier League is sticking to the schedule and accepting several match cancellations. This will probably not change much at the beginning of 2022. As planned, four Premier League matches are scheduled for New Year’s Day in the motherland of football. Leicester and Norwich face off at the King Power Stadium on Saturday at 4pm.
A match with a clear favourite, as the home side have been on the up recently and are brimming with confidence.
The promoted team, on the other hand, has been brought back down to earth after a brief flight of fancy and, soberly considered, it is inconceivable that relegation can be avoided again. Accordingly, the betting odds for the clash between Leicester and Norwich are also distributed, which make the bet on a home win seem very likely.
The visitors are still within sight of the safety net, but their rivals still have a few games to play and Smith’s side have no points to show for their efforts. New year = new luck? A point at the Foxes would be a sense of achievement in any case.
Leicester – Statistics & current form
Leicester City cannot be completely satisfied with their performance so far this season. They are currently in ninth place in the table and, compared to the last few years, the Foxes have ten (compared to 2020/21) and even 14 points (compared to 2019/20) less to show after 18 matchdays. In addition, the club was eliminated from the Europa League and will only be represented in the Conference League in the spring of 2022.
Home record is encouraging
Nevertheless, Leicester City are showing signs of moving in the right direction. Especially at the home King Power Stadium, the team is able to continue with the usual performances and results. They have won their last three home games, with Kasper Schmeichel keeping his box clean on two occasions. This was also the case during the week, when Leicester put a damper on the title hopes of Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool. Thanks to a wild card goal from Ademola Lookman, Leicester managed a 1-0 home win over the Reds.
For the first time since autumn 2019, Leicester now have the chance to record four league home wins in a row. According to statistics, veteran Jamie Vardy should play a big part in this. In the last 14 PL games against promoted sides, Vardy has scored no less than 21 times (14 goals, seven assists).
Bearish in the new year
Another argument underlining the prediction on the home side in Leicester v Norwich is to look at recent results on New Year’s Day. The last time Leicester lost a game on this special day was on 1 January 2008. Since then there have been seven other games on 1 January, of which the Foxes have left the pitch victorious on six occasions. The seventh game ended in a draw. Overtired from the start of the new year, the Foxes do not seem to be at all.
There are still a few absentees (Fofana, Pereira, Justin, Mendy, Daka), but at least Kelechi Iheanacho can play for the Foxes again before his Africa Cup start.
Predicted Leicester line-up:
Schmeichel – Thomas, Amartey, Ndidi, Castagne – Choudhury, Soumare, Dewsbury-Hall – Maddison – Iheneacho, Vardy
Last matches played by Leicester:
Premier League
12/28 2021 – Leicester 1 – 0 Liverpool FC
12/26 2021 – Manchester City 6 – 3 Leicester
Carabao Cup
12/22 2021 – Liverpool FC (5)3 – 3(4) Leicester
Premier League
12/12 2021 – Leicester 4 – 0 Newcastle United
Europa League Grp. C
12/09 2021 – SSC Napoli 3 – 2 Leicester
Norwich – Statistics & current form
Optimistic Norwich City fans will be highlighting the fact that the gap to the saving shore is just three points. Given their extremely disappointing season so far, this is definitely positive news. However, the table must be viewed with caution, as Burnley, for example, still have four supplementary games to play and fellow promoted Watford have two. Under certain circumstances, the gap to 17th place can still grow considerably.
Best offence of all time
Faith in a turnaround at Norwich is lacking given their performances so far this season. The coaching change only brought a brief boost that has long since faded. Since the start of the 2019/20 season, no coach has lost more times in the Premier League than Dean Smith (48 games). Most recently, the Canaries conceded five defeats in a row and failed to score a single goal. All the more surprising is the fact that Leicester vs Norwich is offered with odds of over 2.00 on both teams not scoring.
In total, Norwich City’s offence has only scored a disappointing eight goals so far. In the history of English Premier League football, no team has ever scored less often after 19 matchdays. Only their opponents on New Year’s Day, Leicester City, have also achieved this “feat” – but that was in the 1977/78 season.
Hope for a good start to the year
Not only have Leicester proved to be a specialist at the start of the year in the past, but so have the Canaries. Norwich last lost their first league game in the calendar year 2013, and since then they have had five wins and three draws. This statistic could at least give some hope to the beleaguered fans of the promoted team.
However, the bottom team will probably have to continue to do without notable players. Teemu Pukki (scorer of five of the eight goals), Max Aarons and Todd Cantwell were all absent at short notice for the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. They are unlikely to return for the Leicester game. Norwich is not in a position to compensate for this loss of quality. It therefore serves as another argument that underlines the prediction on the home side in the duel Leicester vs Norwich.
Predicted line-up of Norwich:
Gunn – Giannoulis, Gibson, Lungi Sörensen, Byram – Gilmour, McLean – Tzolis, Lees-Melou, Placheta – Idah
Last matches played by Norwich:
Premier League
12/28 2021 – Crystal Palace 3 – 0 Norwich
12/26 2021 – Norwich 0 – 5 Arsenal London
12/14 2021 – Norwich 0 – 2 Aston Villa
12/11 2021 – Norwich 0 – 1 Manchester United
12/05 2021 – Tottenham 3 – 0 Norwich
Leicester – Norwich Direct Comparison / H2H Record
Since the introduction of the English Premier League, the Canaries from Norwich have only visited Leicester City’s King Power Stadium three times. Norwich have yet to win away from home, with Leicester recording two narrow 1-0 victories and the third match ending in a 1-1 draw. So in all three PL games between Leicester and Norwich so far, the prediction on the under 2.5 was the right decision.
Leicester – Norwich Tip
At home, Leicester City are gradually finding the form of days gone by and could thus celebrate four home wins in a row for the first time in over two years. There are no real doubts about success against the bottom team, as the promoted side have not only lost five in a row, but have also failed to score a single goal. Now, important key players (Pukki, Aarons) are also missing. Accordingly, the situation seems hopeless for Norwich.
The negative run coupled with absences and unbelievable individual mistakes makes the guest appearance a mission impossible. The chances are very good that Leicester will be able to prolong the upward trend and gradually move back towards the international starting positions.
Not only the normal home win is likely, but also the chances of a handicap win are very good. For this reason, six units are recommended as a bet for Leicester against Norwich at good betting odds on the home win.
