Two former European challengers will face off in an exciting Premier League clash at the King Power Stadium this Saturday. Leicester City will take on Everton, with both teams chasing their first league victory of the campaign.
While the two sides are scrapping in a relegation battle this season, there was a time when they were considered the ‘best of the rest’ in the Premier League. Everton regularly challenged for Europe in the late 2000s and early 2010s, while Leicester had a dream five-year period beginning in 2015. The Foxes won the Premier League and the FA Cup and qualified for European football thrice in those five magical years.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Leicester sit 15th on the table while Everton find themselves rock bottom. The Toffees and Foxes both threw away two-goal leads in their previous league games. Crystal Palace equalised with a stoppage-time penalty to share the points with Leicester, while Aston Villa completed a perfect comeback to win against Everton.
Steve Cooper and Sean Dyche are both in desperate need of points, and a win here, especially against a relegation rival, would be huge. Expect a thrilling match at the King Power.
Leicester City vs Everton – Match Details
Date: September 21, 2024.
Time: 15:00 BST
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester
Leicester City vs Everton – Team News
Steve Cooper announced that the squad is in good shape and has no fresh injury concerns. Patson Daka and Jakub Stolarczyk continue to recover from their ankle surgeries, while loanee Odsonne Edouard is available for selection.
The injury list for the visitors is much longer. Seamus Coleman (calf), James Garner (illness), Idrissa Gueye (personal), Nathan Patterson (thigh), Chermiti (ankle), Jarrad Branthwaite (groin), and Armando Broja (calf) are all expected to miss out. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Michael Keane, and James Tarkowski had niggles over the past week but are likely to be fit for the game.
Leicester vs Everton – Match Preview
Leicester played well against Palace at Selhurst Park last weekend and deserved a victory. Despite the last-minute equaliser, there were plenty of positives for the Foxes. Cooper’s men will be confident going into this match as they face a struggling Everton at home.
The Foxes will look to dominate proceedings at the King Power as the team with home advantage. They have plenty of technical players in the squad who are comfortable with the ball. Leicester’s attack, despite recent struggles, will be confident going against an Everton side that has conceded 13 goals in the league, the most by any team.
The Toffees will likely shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Despite their bad form and key personnel missing, Everton remain a big threat on the counter. Leicester must be wary of committing too many players forward and leaving spaces to exploit. Calvert-Lewin is a quality forward with the pace and physicality to cause problems in the box and must be marked tightly.
Leicester have only beaten Everton once in their past seven meetings and have not won against the Toffees at home since 2019. It will be a fiercely contested match in what is a must-win game for both teams.
Leicester City vs Everton – Predicted Starting Lineup
Cooper is likely to continue with a similar lineup to last weekend. Ndidi keeps his place after a strong performance, while Jordan Ayew makes way for the exciting Abdul Fatawu. Ricardo Pereira may come in for Victor Kristiansen, but Cooper could stick with the latter.
Leicester City Predicted Lineup vs Everton: Hermansen; Pereira, Okoli, Faes, Justin; Winks, Skipp, Ndidi; Mavididi, Vardy, Fatawu.