Leicester City will look to begin 2025 on a high note as they clash with Midland rivals Aston Villa at the Villa Park.
The Foxes are on the back of four consecutive defeats and desperately need points to fight for survival. Despite showing some fight in Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s opening two games, Leicester have been extremely poor since then, with 13 goals conceded in the previous four fixtures.
A win for Villa could see them enter the top five and challenge for continental competition, while a Foxes victory may propel Van Nistelrooy’s side out of the relegation zone.
Here’s the predicted Leicester City lineup to face Aston Villa on January 4.
Goalkeeper
Jakub Stolarczyk
With Mads Hermansen set to be sidelined for another couple of weeks, Stolarczyk, who was impressive against Manchester City, is set to start.
Defenders
James Justin, Conor Coady, Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen
Van Nistelrooy has persisted with this backline for the past few games, and despite their struggles, the Dutchman is likely to stick with them. He values Coady’s and Vestergaard’s experience and trusts them as his centre-back pairing.
Midfielders
Boubakary Soumare, Harry Winks, Bilal El Khannouss
Despite the 2-0 home loss to Manchester City, Leicester’s midfield trio was good, with El Khannouss especially impressive. The Moroccan is emerging as one of Leicester’s main men and will be keen to perform at a high-level week in and week out.
Forwards
Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi
With Abdul Fatawu injured, this is Leicester’s strongest front three. Surprisingly, Van Nistelrooy hasn’t utilized Buonanotte as much as fans would have hoped. But the Argentine’s start against Man City could signal that the winger is back in Van Nistelrooy’s plans.
Leicester City predicted lineup vs Aston Villa:
Jakub Stolarczyk, James Justin, Conor Coady, Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen; Boubakary Soumare, Harry Winks, Bilal El Khannouss; Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi.
