Leicestervs.Fulham

The Foxes and the Cottagers butt heads for the first time since the end of August when the latter secured a 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage.

Match preview

Since winning his opening Premier League game as Leicester head coach at the beginning of December, Ruud van Nistelrooy has failed to lead his new team to victory in any of their last seven top-flight matches, including six straight defeats in which they have conceded at least two goals.

Foxes supporters were left frustrated on Wednesday night as they watched their side suffer their third consecutive home defeat without scoring, registering just four of their 21 shots on target in a 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace.

Only once have Leicester endured a longer losing run in the Premier League than their current six-game streak - losing eight matches in a row between March and April 2001 under former boss Peter Taylor.

Sitting 19th in the Premier League table, last season's Championship winners are in danger of dropping straight back down to the second tier, but they are only two points adrift of safety and Van Nistelrooy knows that a quick upturn in form could see them climb the table.

Leicester have picked up nine of their 14 Premier League points at the King Power Stadium this season, but they head into this weekend's contest having lost their last two home meetings with Fulham, including their most recent (1-0) in January 2023.

Fulham's nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions and eight-game unbeaten Premier League run - their longest in the division for almost two decades - came to an end on Tuesday night, as they were beaten 3-2 by Graham Potter's West Ham United at the London Stadium.

Antonee Robinson registered his eighth and ninth assists of the season as he set up Alex Iwobi's two second-half goals, the second of those netted 12 minutes from time set up a nervy finish for the hosts. However, Fulham were unable to find a late equaliser and were eventually condemned to their first defeat since November last year.

Marco Silva insisted after the match that "the better team lost" in East London and "the result could have been completely different if we were clinical". Nevertheless, Fulham remain in a respectable ninth place in the table, five points behind the top seven and seven points behind fifth spot.

Fulham have had no issues with scoring on the road in recent weeks, as they have netted in each of their last nine Premier League away matches - their longest scoring streak away from home in the division.

The Cottagers can be confident of success on Saturday, as they have won six of their 11 Premier League meetings with Leicester (D3 L2); against no other team they have played at least 10 times in the division do they boast a higher win rate (55%, also against Bolton Wanderers).

Leicester City Premier League form:

L

L

L

L

L

L

Leicester City form (all competitions):

L

L

L

L

W

L

Fulham Premier League form:

D

D

W

D

D

L

Fulham form (all competitions):

D

W

D

D

W

L

Team News

Leicester are still having to cope without injured quartet Mads Hermansen (groin), Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring), Abdul Fatawu (knee) and Ricardo Pereira (muscle).

Woyo Coulibaly joined the Foxes from Parma on Wednesday, and although the right-back is yet to train with his new teammates, he could be available for selection against Fulham, provided that the necessary paperwork on his transfer has been completed.

Odsonne Edouard was ineligible to play against his parent club Crystal Palace, but the forward is available to return to Van Nistelrooy's squad this weekend and is one of five attackers along with Jordan Ayew, Patson Daka, Kasey McAteer and Bobby De Cordova-Reid who will push for a recall.

As for Fulham, right-back Kenny Tete and winger Reiss Nelson both remain sidelined as they continue to recover from respective knee and thigh injuries.

However, Sander Berge is in contention to feature in midfield ahead of either Andreas Pereira or Sasa Lukic after recovering from an ankle injury that forced him to miss the last five games.

Silva is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, with a front four of Iwobi, Emile Smith Rowe, Harry Wilson and central striker Raul Jimenez set to remain intact.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Stolarczyk; Justin, Faes, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Ayew, Buonanotte, McAteer; Vardy

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Pereira, Lukic; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez

We say: Leicester City 1-3 Fulham

The fact that Fulham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League games should give Leicester confidence of ending their three-game goal drought on home soil this weekend.

However, their defensive frailties remain a concern and we are backing the Cottagers, who boast a strong head-to-head record against the Foxes, to outscore their opponents en route to collecting all three points at the King Power.

Written by

Oliver Thomas

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