Arsenal vs Leicester: Preview and Prediction

Sunday 25th October 2020

Arsenal vs Leicester: Preview and Prediction

England Premier League
Sunday 25th October 2020
Kick off at 7:15pm GMT
Venue: Emirates Stadium

Match Preview:

Arsenal look improved and look more confident this season and the objective for the club will be to finish in a Champions League position. Whilst forward strides have certainly been evident under Mikel Arteta it is maybe telling that the two games the Gunners have lost this season has been against the teams that finished in the top two last season.

Defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City in recent weeks have ruined an otherwise perfect start for Arsenal and of course the Gunners can point to the fact that both of those matches were away from home. Also in their City loss they only lost 1-0. Still those defeats have meant that Arteta’s side have slid off the pace slightly and they come into this game in 8th place, and being 8th is something that Arteta will not want to be reminded of; this is the position that the club finished in last season and a quick glance at the league would feel as if Arsenal have not made any advancements, that could be rectified on Sunday evening where a win against Leicester could see Arsenal crash into the top 5 party.

Critics of the Gunners will point out that apart from their opening weekend defeat of Fulham where they won 3-0, Arsenal have not actually looked brilliant. Solid, professional, yes, but putting in fantastic performances not so. They scrapped to a 2-1 win over West Ham where arguably the Hammers were the better team on the day. They beat Sheffield United at the Emirates by the same scoreline and the Blades have been poor so far this season. The worry is when Arsenal have to face better sides that they will struggle and we may find out more when they take on Leicester.

Leicester come into this game in 7th place a position ahead of Arsenal but only by goal difference. The Foxes were utterly fantastic at the beginning of the season, which included beating Manchester City at the Etihad 5-2. They were brimming with confidence and looked like going on an amazing run. However the club have lost their last two games, which have come against West Ham and Aston Villa. The West Ham defeat felt jarring as the free scoring Foxes were completely shut out with not even a shot on target as they lost 3-0. The Villa loss at least was heading for a draw until Ross Barkely scored late on but Brendan Rodgers will be concerned that his team have gone from scoring 5 goals against Manchester City to none in their last two games- is it jus a blip, or will Leicester fall apart, after all going away to Arsenal after such performances could be a tough ask.

Both clubs played in midweek in the Europa League with Arsenal beating Rapid Wien away from home 2-1 and Leicester beating Zorya 3-0. It was an important win for both sides, but one must remember in Leicester’s case that this game will be their 3rd in less than a week.

 

Team News:

Arsenal: Dani Ceballos has a slight ankle injury and is only 50/50 for this match. Rob Holding has a hamstring injury and has been ruled out for the next 3 weeks. Mesut Ozil has bene effectively frozen out by the club and has not been included in the squad lists as is the same for Sokratis. Willian has a calf problem but will face a late test. 

Leicester: Jamie Vardy has been pencilled in for this game to return after his calf injury ruled him out of the Aston Villa game. Leicester have another four long term absentees in the likes of Ricardo Periera, Ndidi, Calgar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey with the majority not expected back until December.

 

Arsenal vs Leicester Head to Head:

The teams last met just a month ago in the Carabao Cup when at King Power Stadium Arsenal won 2-0.

The last time the clubs played at Arsenal the game finished 1-1.

Arsenal have only won 1 league game against Leicester from the last five. 

Jamie Vardy has scored 4 goals in the last 3 league games against the Gunners.

 

Arsenal vs Leicester Prediction:

Arsenal will have to put in a great performance because even though Leicester have gone through two bad games for them the win in Europe in midweek would have injected them with confidence again. The feeling is Leicester have shrugged off any negative feelings and will up their game against a team who are a genuine top 4 rival. 

Arsenal cannot be disregarded as they have quality all over the pitch and are at home but the main worry is not seeing a convincing display by the club yet, but that could be around the corner. We should expect a very good game and hopefully some goals against the back drop of two quality and inventive clubs.

 

Arsenal vs Leicester Betting Tips:

Arsenal to beat Leicester at 2.00

Anytime goalscorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 1.97

Over 2.5 goals at 1.72

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