Leicester City will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they head to the Amex on Sunday afternoon to take on Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Foxes are currently ninth in the table with six points to show from their four matches, while Brighton occupy sixth, having picked up nine points from their first four fixtures of the 2021-22 campaign.
Match preview
© Reuters
Brighton have made their best-ever start to a top-flight season, having picked up nine points from their opening four Premier League matches courtesy of three victories and a defeat, and the Seagulls will now be looking to claim a big scalp in the early stages of the campaign.
Graham Potter's side opened their season with back-to-back victories over Burnley and Watford before overcoming Cardiff City in the EFL Cup.
Brighton's first defeat of the campaign came at home to Everton at the end of August, but they returned to winning ways last weekend, recording a 1-0 victory over Brentford courtesy of a 90th-minute winner for Leandro Trossard.
The Seagulls have a busy end to the month, as they will take on Swansea City in the EFL Cup on September 22 before travelling to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on September 27, and it will be fascinating to see what the team can achieve this term, as there have been some excellent signs thus far.
Brighton have not actually beaten Leicester since a Championship clash in April 2014 and have lost five of the last six Premier League meetings between the two sides, including both fixtures last term.
© Reuters
Leicester, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-2 draw with Napoli in their Europa League group-stage opener on Thursday night; the Foxes led by two goals at the King Power Stadium but conceded twice in the final 21 minutes to share the points with the Italian outfit.
Brendan Rodgers's side have also made an indifferent start to the new Premier League season, winning two and losing two of their four matches, which has left them in ninth position in the table on six points.
Leicester opened their season with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers before conceding four in a defeat to West Ham United on August 23; a 2-1 success at Norwich City followed, but the Foxes suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Manchester City last weekend.
There is no question that Rodgers's team will be eyeing a top-four finish this term, but it is difficult to look past Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City for the Champions League spots, so they might have to win the Europa League in order to secure a return to Europe's leading competition.
Leicester, as mentioned, have an excellent recent record against Brighton, but they needed an 87th-minute goal from Daniel Amartey to record a 2-1 win at the Amex last term.
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Brighton boss Potter said during his pre-match press conference that Pascal Gross and Adam Webster will both miss the match, but Dan Burn and Enock Mwepu are back in contention.
Tariq Lamptey will also miss out but is now making excellent progress in his recovery from injury, with the defender potentially making his return against Swansea in the EFL Cup.
The Seagulls could revert to a back four this weekend, with summer arrival Marc Cucurella playing as a left-back, while Alexis Mac Allister and Solly March could be in line for starts in attack.
As for Leicester, Ayoze Perez will again miss out through suspension, while James Justin, Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans will miss the contest through injury.
Head coach Rodgers is expected to recall Jamie Vardy to his starting XI, but Patson Daka could keep his spot in a wide area, potentially lining up alongside James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.
Ricardo Pereira is also likely to return to the starting XI at right-back, with Timothy Castagne and Boubakary Soumare dropping out from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Napoli.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, Duffy, Dunk, Cucurella; Lallana, Bissouma; Trossard, Mac Allister, March; Maupay
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Soyuncu, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Ndidi, Tielemans; Daka, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Leicester City
Leicester are struggling to gain any sort of momentum in the early stages of the season, and they will be taking on a Brighton side full of confidence following a strong start. We are expecting goals at the Amex on Sunday and have had to settle on a draw taking everything into consideration.
Top tip
Matt Law
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 Leicester City win with a probability of 45.71%. A draw had a probability of 28.1% and a win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 26.23%.
The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.21%) and 1-2 (8.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.93%), while for a Brighton & Hove Albion win it was 1-0 (9.81%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 6% likelihood.
