Leicester City and Southampton head into their fixture at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon still looking for their first victory of the season.
With one draw apiece from their opening two fixtures, the Foxes and Saints currently occupy 15th and 17th place in the Premier League standings.
Match preview
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Potential departures are currently dominating conversations at Leicester right now with the futures of Wesley Fofana, Youri Tielemans and Jamie Vardy all remaining hot topics of debate.
Brendan Rodgers will accept that it is part of the territory, and perhaps necessary if he is to make new signings, but the Northern Irishman needs to place equal focus on ensuring that his team get a win on the board as soon as possible.
Even though Leicester have netted twice in each of their games against Brentford and Arsenal, they only have one point to show for their efforts, a consequence of six being conceded at the other end of the pitch.
Speculation regarding Fofana or the exit of Kasper Schemichel should not necessarily be blamed for that. This is a Leicester side which has collectively regressed since winning the FA Cup in 2021, and they are at risk of becoming a constant fixture in mid-table.
With Chelsea and Manchester United to follow, Rodgers knows that victory over an equally-open Southampton team would make his job that little bit more comfortable for the remainder of the month.
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As far as Southampton are concerned, Ralph Hasenhuttl has already had to fend off questions about his future at this early stage of the season.
The Austrian would have been anticipating a more ferocious grilling from the media when his team were 2-0 down to Leeds last weekend, but their revival would have come as both a relief and a surprise.
Joe Aribo and Kyle Walker-Peters netted inside the final 18 minutes to give the Saints some momentum ahead of their trip to the East Midlands.
While Hasenhuttl will continue to have concerns about his defence, the show of character versus Leeds will give him confidence that his players can capitalise versus a Leicester defence who are playing with little belief.
However, Southampton are currently on a five-game winless streak against the Foxes, their last success coming in January 2020 when they emerged victorious by a 2-1 scoreline on their travels.
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Team News
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With Fofana reportedly requesting to be left out of the squad for this game, Rodgers will seemingly be forced into making a change to his backline.
Caglar Soyuncu should get the call, with Daniel Amartey switching to the right-hand side, while Kelechi Iheanacho is pushing or an opportunity in the final third.
That may lead to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall dropping down to the substitutes' bench, rather than transfer-linked Tielemans.
Hasenhuttl could make at least two changes in the final third with Aribo, Sekou Mara and Adam Armstrong all having cases to be recalled.
The rest of the Southampton side could stay the same unless Oriol Romeu is handed a chance back in the team ahead of Romeo Lavia.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Ward; Amartey, Evans, Soyuncu; Castagne, Tielemans, Ndidi, Justin; Maddison, Iheanacho; Vardy
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Bella-Kotchap, Bednarek, Salisu; Walker-Peters, Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Djenepo; Armstrong, Aribo; Adams
We say: Leicester City 2-1 Southampton
With both teams having been leaky in defence during the opening weeks, as much attention will be placed on that area of the pitch as the other end. Nevertheless, home advantage could prove key for Leicester, who we are backing to edge this contest by the odd goal in three.
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Top tip
Darren Plant
