Arsenal vs Leicester City – Preview | Premier League 2024/25

arnav
By Arnav
6 Min Read

Leicester City will travel to London to face high-flying Arsenal this Saturday. 

The Gunners sit fourth in the Premier League table and are considered one of the major title candidates this season. On the other hand, the Foxes find themselves scrapping in a relegation battle, two points ahead of 18th-place Southampton. Leicester are yet to win a league game this season and will have to be at their best if they want to leave the Emirates Stadium with points.

Both teams were held to draws last weekend. In a clash of two trophy favourites, Manchester City came back from a goal down to equalise in the stoppage time against ten men Arsenal. On the other end of the spectrum, Leicester drew 1-1 with Everton in a potential six-pointer between relegation candidates. 

Mikel Arteta’s men will be the heavy favourites, and a loss for Leicester will put even more pressure on Steve Cooper.

Arsenal vs Leicester City – Match Details

Date: September 28, 2024.

Time: 15:00 BST.

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London.

Arsenal vs Leicester City – Team News

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Jannik Vestergaard wasn’t included in the squad against Walsall due to a minor injury and also misses out against Arsenal. Patson Daka and Jakub Stolarcyzk remain on the sidelines as they recover from their ankle surgeries. 

Midfield duo Mikel Merino and captain Martin Odegaard will be on the sidelines for the hosts. David Raya faces a late fitness test to determine if he will be ready for the game. Additionally, while Arteta has confirmed Ben White’s availability for the game, the defender is unlikely to start.

Arsenal vs Leicester City – Match Preview

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Leicester’s performances in their past two games have been bland, with the team lacking cohesion and, at times, looking clueless. Their previous two matches were against bottom-placed team Everton and League Two side Walsall, in which the Foxes only mustered four shots on target. They have struggled offensively and have been shaky at the back, looking especially vulnerable on the flanks.

Arsenal will be the heavy favourites despite missing a few key personnel in the midfield. With the Gunners expected to dominate proceedings at the Emirates Stadium, Cooper will aim to be defensively solid and rely on counterattacks. While Jamie Vardy may not have the pace he once had, he showed he is still quick after beating Marc Guehi in a foot race two weeks ago. Having him and Stephy Mavididi make regular runs in behind will be a key attacking strategy for the Foxes.

The Gunners will likely line up in a fluid 4-4-2. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz are in good form and will be Arsenal’s biggest threats in attack. Given Arteta’s possession-oriented approach, the Foxes will likely sit in a low block as narrow as possible to deny Arsenal space in the centre. 

With only two central midfielders for Arsenal, the Foxes can exploit their numerical disadvantage in the middle by asking Kristiansen to invert inside when in possession. Jurrien Timber will likely invert to midfield to counter that threat and avoid a numerical disadvantage. However, this will leave Arsenal with a three-man defence that Mavididi and Vardy can take advantage of in case of turnovers in the centre.

For Arsenal, Saka and Martinelli will both look to take on their opposing fullback the entire game. Justin and Kristiansen have looked unconvincing with their defending, and the Gunners will aim to exploit that weakness.

Leicester have only beaten Arsenal four times in the 21st century, with all of those victories coming in a three-year period between 2018 and 2020. The Foxes have lost their past five matches against the North London side and will need a determined performance to break their streak of losses.

Arsenal vs Leicester City – Predicted Starting Lineup

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Cooper is likely to keep the same lineup that he deployed against Everton. Pereira and Fatawu continue to miss out due to their tactical unsuitability.

Leicester City Predicted Lineup vs Arsenal: Mads Hermansen; James Justin, Caleb Okoli, Wout Faes, Victor Kristiansen; Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp; Wilfred Ndidi; Jordan Ayew, Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi.

Arsenal Predicted lineup vs Leicester City: David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli.

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