Preview: Leicester City vs. Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

The Foxes were undone by a dramatic last-minute strike in a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Unai Emery's men continued their hot streak by beating Chelsea 2-0.

Match preview

From single-handedly keeping his team in the game to scoring one of the most unfortunate own goals that the Premier League will see this season, Leicester shot-stopper Daniel Iversen can now empathise with upcoming adversary Emiliano Martinez when it comes to the unluckiest of ricochets.

In Palace's first game back under the tutelage of Roy Hodgson, Leicester somehow avoided conceding one of the 20 shots that they faced in the first half and even drew first blood through Ricardo Pereira, but an Eberechi Eze free kick struck the bar before bouncing in off the backside of Iversen to level matters.

Both sides were seemingly set to take home a point apiece, but a sharp turn and finish from Jean-Philippe Mateta with seconds remaining sparked delirium for Palace and discontent for Leicester, whose relegation fears are growing by the week.

With a miserable five defeats and one draw to show from their last six Premier League games, Leicester have dropped below the dotted line into 18th place ahead of Sunday's fixtures, and Brendan Rodgers's side will plummet further down the rankings if there is a victor in West Ham United's basement brawl with Southampton.

Still the only team in the Premier League without a clean sheet since the World Cup came to a close, Leicester have conceded in each of their last 13 top-flight affairs - including each of their last seven at the King Power - hardly a reassuring statistic against Emery's formidable attacking forces.

Making the short trip across the midlands with the wind whistling in their sails, Aston Villa visited Stamford Bridge for a mid-table battle with Chelsea on Sunday evening - very rarely has that been said in recent memory - and the Lions demoted the 2021 Champions League winners into the bottom half with a pair of stunning strikes.

A delicate chip from Ollie Watkins over the head of Kepa Arrizabalaga broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, and while Emery's team did have to fend off an onslaught of ineffective Chelsea attacks, they notched a deserved second through John McGinn's exquisite first-time strike from outside the box.

Picking up exactly where they left off before international football took centre stage, the Emery revolution in the West Midlands is gathering pace by the week, and the Lions have now leapfrogged Chelsea into ninth place in the table - whisper it quietly, but a late European charge is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Keeping up their phenomenal streak of scoring in every single game under Emery - a run which now stands at 17 matches - Villa have taken 13 points from the last 15 on offer in the Premier League; only leaders Arsenal with a perfect 15 can better the Lions' exploits in that regard.

Also restoring some defensive order, Villa have only conceded one goal in their last 450 minutes of top-flight football, as well as prevailing in five of their last seven away matches - the only defeat in that streak coming at the home of reigning champions Manchester City.

However, Leicester memorably broke down Emery's men at will in a 4-2 win at Villa Park only two months ago, and the Lions have just one win from their last four contests with Rodgers's men, but recent history is arguably all that the hosts have going for them this week.

Leicester City Premier League form:

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Leicester City form (all competitions):

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Aston Villa Premier League form:

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Team News

Both of Harry Souttar and Victor Kristiansen overcame ankle concerns to start at Selhurst Park on Saturday, but Rodgers had to make do without Dennis Praet (dead leg) and Jonny Evans (thigh) despite initial optimism over their respective fitness levels.

However, Evans has returned to team training and could force his way back into contention alongside Praet, but Youri Tielemans (ankle), James Justin (knee) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) remain out alongside Jannik Vestergaard, who has been ostracised from the squad after questioning his lack of playing time under Rodgers.

Pereria's thunderbolt off the bench will benefit the Portuguese's chances of a recall tenfold, while Kelechi Iheanacho and Daniel Amartey could also freshen up the team, with Rodgers perhaps taking a careful approach with Souttar given his recent layoff.

Speaking of ankle injuries, Boubacar Kamara made a quicker-than-expected return from such a problem at Stamford Bridge, although he was hooked on the 45-minute mark - most likely a consequence of picking up a fourth-minute yellow card as well as managing his load.

Matty Cash and Jed Steer remain out of contention with calf injuries, while Philippe Coutinho is also a few weeks away from coming back from a thigh problem, but Emery has no other concerns to factor in for the trip to the King Power and should see no need to alter a winning formula.

Watkins's sublime lob against Chelsea saw the Englishman become the first player in Aston Villa's history to score in five successive Premier League away games, and the 27-year-old will lead the line with uncurbed confidence.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Pereira, Amartey, Faes, Castagne; Soumare, Dewsbury-Hall; Tete, Maddison, Barnes; Iheanacho

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Ramsey, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn; Buendia, Watkins

We say: Leicester City 1-3 Aston Villa

Conceding shot after shot to a hitherto goal-shy Palace side well and truly highlights the magnitude of Leicester's defensive problems, which should be exposed and then some by a Villa side who just cannot stop scoring under Emery.

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