Leeds United and Leicester City will lock horns in the Premier League for the first time since 2004 on Monday evening with the two teams due to face off at Elland Road.

Both sides have made positive starts to the 2020-21 campaign, with Leeds sitting seventh in the table, having won three of their six matches on their return to this level, while Leicester occupy fifth spot.

Match preview

Patrick Bamford celebrates with teammates after scoring for Leeds United against Aston Villa in the Premier League on October 23, 2020 © Reuters

Considering the teams and fixtures that Leeds have faced in the early weeks of the 2020-21 campaign, a total of 10 points from six matches, which has left them seventh in England's top flight, is a solid return.

The Whites were excellent in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the start of the month but then disappointingly lost 1-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers after the international break.

As a result, there was a degree of pressure on Marcelo Bielsa's side heading into last Friday's clash with Aston Villa, but a brilliant hat-trick from Patrick Bamford secured a 3-0 victory.

It is a tough period of the season for Leeds considering that three of their next four after this one are against Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea, and it will be very interesting to see how they perform considering their displays against Liverpool and Man City thus far this season.

Leeds have not actually beaten Leicester in any competition since 2012 - losing the last two matches between the two teams - although they were 3-2 winners in the last Premier League clash at Elland Road in April 2004, with Alan Smith settling that particular contest in the latter stages.

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring against Arsenal in the Premier League on October 25, 2020 © Reuters

Leicester, meanwhile, are currently fifth in the table with 12 points from their six matches, having won four times and lost twice in the early stages of the 2020-21 Premier League campaign.

The Foxes won their first three league games of the season before disappointingly losing back-to-back fixtures at home to West Ham United and Aston Villa, but Jamie Vardy came off the bench to hand them a 1-0 victory away to Arsenal on Sunday night.

Leicester have also started their Europa League season in strong fashion, recording two wins from two matches, including a 2-1 victory away to AEK Athens on Thursday night.

Brendan Rodgers's side were unable to secure a top-four finish last season as their form after the lockdown period was poor, but there are plenty of signs that another Champions League push could occur this term.

Like Leeds, Leicester have some testing games ahead, though, with Wolves at home and Liverpool away their next two fixtures after this one.

Leeds United Premier League form: LWWDLW
Leeds United form (all competitions): LWWDLW

Leicester City Premier League form: WWWLLW
Leicester City form (all competitions): WLLWWW

Team News

Leicester City defender Jonny Evans pictured in July 2020 © Reuters

Leeds will again be without the services of Kalvin Phillips, Gaetano Berardi, Adam Forshaw and Diego Llorente for Monday's clash, but skipper Liam Cooper is back in contention after being forced to miss the clash with Villa last time out due to the groin issue that he picked up on international duty.

Cooper's return is expected to see Stuart Dallas push into midfield, with Luke Ayling switching to right-back and Ezgjan Alioski featuring as the left-back in a 4-5-1 formation.

Helder Costa and Jack Harrison should continue in the wide positions for the Whites, while Rodrigo Moreno could again be asked to support Bamford, who will enter the match full of confidence following his terrific treble against Dean Smith's side.

As for Leicester, Caglar Soyuncu, Wilfred Ndidi, Daniel Amartey and Ricardo Pereira are still on the sidelines, while Jonny Evans and Timothy Castagne have also joined the injury list.

Evans is struggling with a back problem, while summer arrival Castagne is expected to be on the sidelines until after the November international break with a hamstring issue.

There is a chance that Evans could return in time for the contest, though, while Castagne's absence could see Marc Albrighton feature as the left-sided wing-back.

Vardy, as mentioned, came off the bench to score the winner at Arsenal and should now start, with Harvey Barnes and James Maddison expected to support the Englishman.

Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Ayling, Cooper, Koch, Alioski; Costa, Klich, Dallas, Rodrigo, Harrison; Bamford

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Fuchs; Justin, Mendy, Tielemans, Albrighton; Maddison, Vardy, Barnes

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We say: Leeds United 2-2 Leicester City

This has all the makings of an excellent game of football and goals should hopefully be on the agenda. Both teams will enter the contest full of confidence, and we are therefore struggling to separate them, ultimately backing an entertaining 2-2 draw at Elland Road.

Top betting tip

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Video prediction

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leeds United win with a probability of 37.3%. A win for Leicester City had a probability of 36.67% and a draw had a probability of 26%.

The most likely scoreline for a Leeds United win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.27%) and 2-0 (6.25%). The likeliest Leicester City win was 0-1 (9.25%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.36%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 1.2% likelihood.