MX23RW : Monday, December 23 20:03:51| >> :120:19452:19452:
[monks data]
Leicester logo
Championship
Mar 15, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Blackpool

3-1

Mahrez (60'), Morgan (82'), Phillips (87')
FT(HT: 0-1)

Preview: Leicester City vs. Blackpool

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between league leaders Leicester and Blackpool at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester City will look to continue their march towards an increasingly inevitable Championship title when they host Blackpool at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

The Foxes have a commanding seven-point lead at the top of the table, while that gap could grow even further when they play their game in hand.

Even accounting for a remarkable collapse towards the end of the season, Leicester's Premier League status next year is now a formality as they have a 15-point lead over third place.

They have gone from strength to strength recently, winning each of their last three matches 3-0 to become the league's highest scorers and reaffirm their status as the most dominant team in the division.

Those victories extended their unbeaten streak in the league to 15 games, during which time they have dropped just six points.

Nigel Pearson's side boast the best home record in the league having picked up 42 points in front of their own fans this season, losing just one of their 17 games at the King Power Stadium.

Paul Konchesky will miss Saturday's match through suspension, while Sean St Ledger is still injured and Lloyd Dyer remains a doubt.

An away trip to face Leicester is a daunting challenge for any side to face, and it is certainly not one that Blackpool will have wanted to follow up a long overdue win.

The Seasiders finally ended their incredible run of 18 games without a win in all competitions on Tuesday, beating struggling Millwall 1-0 at Bloomfield Road.

That handed Barry Ferguson a timely boost as his side looked destined to be slipping towards the relegation mire, with no signs of a change in fortune on the horizon.

However, they now sit nine points clear of the bottom three and, while they have played more games than those in the relegation zone, they will consider themselves safe from the immediate threat of the drop.

They would have liked to build upon their elusive victory, but Ferguson will know that anything other than defeat on Saturday would be a major shock, not least because of Blackpool's recent away form.

They have lost nine of their last 10 matches on the road in all competitions, while their last five away outings have yielded just one goal.

Ferguson could welcome Andy Keogh back into the side after he missed the midweek game against his parent club, but he is still without Jack Robinson, who serves the final game of his suspension.

Recent form

Leicester: WDDWWW

Blackpool: DDLLLW

Possible starting lineups

Leicester: Schmeichel; De Laet, Wasilewski, Morgan, Schlupp; Knockaert, James, Drinkwater, Mahrez; Vardy, Nugent

Blackpool: Gilks; Broadfoot, Mackenzie, Cathcart; McMahon, Perkins, Basham, Bishop, Halliday; Fuller, Keogh

Sports Mole says: 3-0


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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson looks on ahead of the Championship playoff semi-final against Watford on May 9, 2013
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