Will Moscow get revenge?

In the group stage of the Europa League, the teams are slowly turning into the home straight. We take a look at Group C, where the Foxes from Leicester welcome the people’s team from Moscow. Everything is still open in the group and it is important for the teams not to be left behind in the table. At least third place has to be achieved to stay in the international business. Who has the best chance of winning the Europa League this year is summarised in an interesting article by Wettbasis.

Besides our two protagonists, Legia Warsaw and SSC Napoli are also in the group. After half of the games to be played, the Poles from Warsaw are somewhat surprisingly at the top of the table. But the Foxes have been in good form in recent weeks and can take a big step towards the knockout phase with a win on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, all predictions in the Leicester vs Spartak Moscow match are for a win for the home side.

The visitors missed out on a better starting position with a home defeat in the first leg and are now under pressure to score on the island. In case of a defeat, it will probably be difficult to reach one of the first three places. Kick-off at the King Power Stadium is at 21:00 on Thursday.

Leicester – Statistics & current form

Two times in a row the Foxes have narrowly missed out on qualification for the lucrative Champions League. Both in 2020 and at the end of the last season, they finished fifth and thus only participated in the UEFA Europa League. The start to this competition was more than sluggish.

After two matchdays, the Blue and Whites had just one point to their name. After a 2:2 draw against SSC Napoli, in which the hosts gave away a 2:0 lead, they suffered a more than surprising 0:1 defeat against Legia in Warsaw. It was not until the third matchday that the first three points were won. Leicester City won 4-3 in Moscow against Spartak, who now come to the King Power Stadium for the return match on Thursday.

Leicester must score at home

The English are currently in third place in the table, which would ultimately mean a place in the knockout games of the Conference League. But things are tight in Group C. The Foxes are two points behind leaders Warsaw. A win in their own stadium is extremely important to secure third place on the one hand, but also to overtake one of the two opponents in front of them.

The home side can look back on successful weeks. They went five games without defeat before the Foxes were hit again last Saturday. The Blue and Whites lost 2-0 against the in-form Gunners.

The Foxes only in mid-table in the league

The result saw the hosts slip to eleventh in the Premier League table, three points off the international places. But going into Thursday’s game, the 2016 champions are clear favourites. The bookmakers are offering odds of 1.33 at the top for a bet on the Foxes in the Leicester v Spartak Moscow match.

The games involving the Blue and Whites are usually very high-scoring. At least three goals have been scored in five of the last six competitive matches.

Predicted Leicester line-up:
Schmeichel – Söyüncü, Evans, Amartey – Thomas, Tielemans, Soumare, Castagne – Daka, Vardy, Iheanacho

Last matches played by Leicester:

Premier League
10/30 2021 – Leicester 0 – 2 Arsenal London

Carabao Cup
10/27 2021 – Leicester (4)2 – 2(2) Brighton

Premier League
10/24 2021 – Brentford 1 – 2 Leicester

Europa League Grp. C
10/20 2021  – Spartak Moscow 3 – 4 Leicester

Premier League
10/16 2021  – Leicester 4 – 2 Manchester United

Spartak Moscow – Statistics & Current form

Last season, Domenico Tedesco, who may be familiar from his time at Schalke 04, led Moscow to a runners-up finish in the Russian Premier League. Only Zenit St. Petersburg was ahead of the Red and Whites in the end. Second place secured the capital city’s participation in the Champions League qualifiers. Since the summer, Rui Vitoria has taken over as Tedesco’s successor on the sidelines.

In the Champions League qualifiers, the Russians were quickly knocked out. They lost 2-0 against Benfica Lisbon and now have to seek their luck in the Europa League. But even there, the team is currently struggling to stay in the competition. In addition to two home defeats against Warsaw (0:1) and Leicester (3:4), there was a surprising victory in Naples (3:2).

Moscow currently bottom of the table

In the standings, this currently means only last place in Group C. Due to the tight situation in the standings, however, everything is still possible for the red and white team. To stay in the race, the Vitoria eleven should not go home empty-handed on Thursday. But the bookmakers’ odds show just how difficult that will be.

The visitors are also running behind expectations in the national league. After thirteen games, they are only in ninth place. They are already eleven points behind league leader Zenit. In order to qualify for international competition again, they have to catch up five points on city rivals ZSKA and Dynamo.

Spartak without a treble for four competitive games

Spartak have not won any of their last four competitive matches. Especially the heavy 1:7 defeat at St. Petersburg should still hurt. Only against Dynamo Moscow (2:2) and last Saturday against Rostov (1:1) was at least a point shared. Thirteen goals have already been scored in the three Europa League games involving Spartak, so we’re hoping for another high-scoring game.

Predicted line-up of Spartak Moscow:
Maksimenko – Rasskazov, Caufriez, Dzhikiya – Moses, Litvinov, Zobnin, Ayrton – Larsson, Promes, Sobolev

Last matches played by Spartak Moscow:

Premier League
10/30 2021 – Spartak Moscow 1 – 1 FK Rostov

10/24 2021 – Zenit St. Petersburg 7 – 1 Spartak Moscow

Europa League Grp. C
10/20 2021 – Spartak Moscow 3 – 4 Leicester

Premier League
10/16 2021 – Spartak Moscow 2 – 2 Dynamo Moscow

10/03 2021 – FK Akhmat 0 – 1 Spartak Moscow

Leicester – Spartak Moscow Direct Comparison / H2H Record

The spectacular first leg was the first meeting between these two teams. The Foxes got the upper hand with a 4:3 win and used their last chance to stay in the race for the next round. The Moscow team was already on the winning track with a score of 2:0.

The bookmakers also have a clear prediction in favour of the hosts in the second leg between Leicester and Spartak Moscow. For a bet on the home side, unattractive odds of 1.33 are offered at the top. But the visitors cannot afford another defeat given their current league situation.

Leicester – Spartak Moscow Tip

With the Foxes and Spartak, the current bottom of the table meet. The winner can still have hope, while it is getting tight for the loser. We expect a few goals and in the match Leicester vs Spartak Moscow odds of 1.53 are called for betting on a duel with at least three goals.

The hosts have enjoyed a successful few weeks, but their run was halted by the Gunners last Saturday. Against the Red and Whites, only a win really counts at their home King Power Stadium. That would put the Foxes in an excellent position ahead of their final two games to stay in this competition over the winter.

Even though there was a slight setback against Arsenal, we see the home side as having the advantage. We expect a clear victory for the hosts and recommend betting on a handicap win for the Blue and Whites (-1.5) in the Leicester vs Spartak Moscow match at odds of 1.93 at the top.

Both teams have delighted fans with a number of goals so far in this competition. On average, four goals were scored when one of our protagonists was involved. Therefore, betting on a match with more than 3.5 goals in the match Leicester vs. Spartak Moscow at odds of 2.37 is a promising alternative.