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

With the two sides in the bottom three, this fixture perfectly fits the description of a relegation six-pointer.

Match preview

Leicester's draw at Elland Road against Leeds United in midweek ultimately earned them another point towards survival, but missed chances from both sides meant either could have won when a draw was not ideal.

One big positive from the fixture was Jamie Vardy scoring his first goal in 20 Premier League games in clinching a late equaliser for the Foxes.

If Leicester can get Vardy back in form for the final few weeks of the season, then that will strongly aid their hopes of staving off relegation.

Dean Smith's side find themselves back in the bottom three though, despite the point they picked up at Leeds, due to Nottingham Forest's surprise win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.

It is remarkable that Leicester find themselves in 18th considering they have scored the most goals out of any side in the bottom half.

Having not kept a clean sheet in 18 Premier League encounters goes some way to explaining why, but that did not stop them from claiming all three points in their last home fixture.

That 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers has set Leicester up with an opportunity to win back-to-back home games for the first time this season.

Smith has a wonderful record against Everton as well, having never lost in six previous Premier League meetings as a manager.

Defeat at home to Newcastle United has plunged Everton into even deeper trouble, as the club are now on the brink of a first relegation in 72 years.

A humiliating 4-1 thrashing on home soil on Thursday means Everton are two points from safety, but with their next four games consisting of three away games, and Manchester City at Goodison Park, it is difficult to see where Everton's points are coming from.

That is due to their dreadful away form which has seen them win only once on the road this season, and just twice in their previous 33 away Premier League matches.

It was form at Goodison Park which kept Everton up last season, but with only Manchester City left to play at home before their final day showdown with Bournemouth, the Toffees will feel they need a miraculous change in fortunes away from home.

Starting with this encounter, realistically Sean Dyche's men need a win, and that is what they got last season at a similar stage of the campaign, winning 2-1 at the King Power.

Repeating the feat will see Everton record three consecutive wins away at Leicester for the first time in their history.

With Leicester's weakness evidently being in defence, Everton will likely struggle to take advantage though, considering they remain the league's lowest scorers with just 25 goals from 33 games.

Their consolation goal against Newcastle was also a fortuitous strike direct from a Dwight McNeil corner, as another toothless performance saw them comfortably beaten.

Leicester City Premier League form:

L

L

L

L

W

D

Everton Premier League form:

D

D

L

L

D

L

Team News

Kelechi Iheanacho tore an adductor muscle while setting up the chance for Leicester's equaliser at Leeds on Tuesday, and Smith believes he could miss the rest of the season.

That could open the door for Vardy to play from the start after his vital goal, with Patson Daka also an option to come in.

Defensive duo Jonny Evans and Ricardo Pereira are both closing in on returns to the side, but this fixture may come too soon for both of them.

Ryan Bertrand recently featured for the club's Under-21s so could feature in the matchday squad, but Jannik Vestergaard and James Justin are out.

Everton will hope to have club captain Seamus Coleman available after a thigh injury has kept him out of the last three games.

Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey have both deputised in the meantime and had a torrid time at right-back, with the former sent off against Crystal Palace and the latter at fault for more than one of Newcastle's goals on Thursday.

Holgate is available after serving his one-match suspension against Newcastle, but he is unlikely to feature.

Should Coleman not make it, Nathan Patterson may be given a chance having not started since a 4-1 defeat to Brighton in January.

James Garner could come back into the side in midfield after performing well against Crystal Palace last week, and a woeful display from the side that started against Newcastle.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Castagne, Faes, Soyuncu, Kristiansen; Tielemans, Soumare, Maddison; Tete, Daka, Barnes

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Gueye, Onana, Doucoure, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin

We say: Leicester City 2-0 Everton

Everton's away woes are well-documented, and time is running out on their top-flight future if they get anything but a win here.

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