England Premier League
Sunday 7th August 2022
Kick off at 2pm BST
Venue: King Power Stadium
Match Preview:
Leicester finished in 8th place last season and just missed out on Europe but in reality it was easy to see with two months to go that the Foxes were not going to qualify. This was clearly a backwards step from the previous two seasons when they finished 5th and were very unlucky not to qualify on both occasions for the Champions League. Last season just showed how important it is for the club to have a fit Jamie Vardy on the pitch as Vardy still rained down the goals but was missing for long periods due to injury, they will be hoping that their legendary player has few problems this season.
But one has to wonder if there will not be problems on the horizon for the Foxes this coming season? The club are yet to sign any players and manager Brendan Rodgers currently cuts a frustrated figure. He has been told much like Frank Lampard at Everton that players must be sold in order to bring new ones in. True the window doesn’t close until the end of the month but to start a new season with no new additions doesn’t bode well. Kasper Schmeichel has left the club and that will feel like a blow for fans and he will join French Ligue 1 side Nice. The Foxes have lost just one game from their six friendlies and in their last match they were able to beat Sevilla at home 1-0.
Winning 13 games last season was terrific for Brentford who had not tasted top flight football since 1947. The Bees finished in 13th place and had a very solid campaign. However the club will be well aware of how newly promoted teams can have a solid first season back and then struggle in their second season- just see Leeds for evidence. So if Brentford could repeat their feats of last season whilst upsetting some of the bigger sides the fans would be more than satisfied. One blow for the club is that Christian Eriksen has left for Manchester United. The Dane was superb for the club in the second half of the campaign and he will be a big loss.
There is ambition from Brentford though who have spent nearly £50m on new players. Aaron Hickey the Scottish defender who was playing for Bologna has come in for £17m, Keane Lewis-Potter has been snapped up for £16m from Hull and the experienced Ben Mee comes on a free transfer. As for friendly games the club partly went to Germany and lost against VFB Stuttgart and VFL Wolfsburg. They drew 2-2 with Strasbourg, but it is their last 3 games which impressed. This included beating Real Betis, Brighton and Arsenal. The Arsenal game was played behind closed doors.
Team News:
Leicester: Ricardo Pererira has an Achilles injury and will miss out, Ryan Bertrand is out long term with a knee injury.
Brentford: Sergi Canos is suspended for this game owing to his red card at the end of last season. Kristoffer Ajer is out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. Ethan Pinnock is out long term with a knee injury.
Leicester vs Brentford Head to Head:
Leicester won this fixture last season 2-1.
Leicester have won the last 5 meetings in a row and Brentford have recorded no wins since against the Foxes since 1953.
The last 3 meetings have all seen over 2.5 goals.
Leicester vs Brentford Prediction:
Leicester have a good attacking team and there are goals in the side. Perhaps playing in Europe last season hindered their progress in the league and if their quality players stay fit we should see more consistency from them. They are bound to bring in some players before the end of the month but as it stands it is worrying the club have been so quiet. On the other hand Brentford have been ‘busy bees’ and they are a club determined to stay up and even finish mid table again.
There shouldn’t be much in this game but Leicester being at home in the first game is a good advantage for them and if the players do their jobs we expect to see a routine home win. The club have been scoring goals in pre-season and that is obviously a good sign. With Vardy missing a lot of last season we suspect he is ready to go and let’s not forget Leicester have a great record over Brentford. This should be an enjoyable game and end to end but we will be tipping the home side.
Leicester vs Brentford Betting Tips:
Leicester to beat Brentford at 2.00
First goalscorer: Jamie Vardy at 5.00
© Copyright topfootballtipster.com 2019
