Leicester City will aim to build on their emphatic 6-2 victory over Queens Park Rangers when they welcome another London side in Crystal Palace to the King Power Stadium on Wednesday.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s side ended their five-game losing streak spectacularly, putting six past Championship side QPR in the FA Cup third round. The Dutchman, wanting to give his first team further time to gel with each other, started his strongest side against the Rangers. His decision paid off, and Leicester will be confident ahead of their kickoff against the South London side.
Here’s the predicted Leicester City lineup to face Crystal Palace on January 15
Goalkeeper
Jakub Stolarcyzk
With Mads Hermansen out injured, the Pole continues to start in goal. A cleansheet will do wonders for his confidence.
Defenders
James Justin, Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, Victor Kristiansen
Justin was fantastic against QPR, scoring two well-taken goals. It makes fans wonder whether his true strengths are being curtailed by deploying him as an inverted fullback. Hopefully, he builds on that performance with some much-needed defensive solidarity in the coming games.
Van Nistelrooy has appeared to settle on his preferred backline, with Vestergaard, Coady, and Kristiansen likely to be deployed alongside Justin.
Midfielders
Harry Winks, Boubakary Soumare, Bilal El Khannouss
El Khannouss was fantastic against QPR and has established himself as one of the integral members of Leicester. On the other hand, Winks had a forgettable game, with both QPR goals his mistakes. However, the Englishman’s partnership with Soumare and El Khannouss has looked good over the past few weeks, and the trio will start against Palace.
Forwards
Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi
Buonanotte once again showed why he deserved to start. The Argentine had a great game and linked up superbly with El Khannouss. Starting the two youngsters together is imperative for Leicester’s chance of survival this season. And who better to feed off their chances than the evergreen Jamie Vardy?
Leicester City predicted lineup vs Crystal Palace
Jakub Stolarczyk, James Justin, Conor Coady, Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen; Boubakary Soumare, Harry Winks, Bilal El Khannouss; Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi.
