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.
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 the Foxes players will have regained some confidence.
On Tuesday, the Premier League confirmed that no team would be sanctioned for breaking the Profit and Sustainability rules, and Leicester would no longer need to worry about points deduction. Van Nistelrooy can now focus on achieving survival, and a win against the Eagles will be a big step towards that.
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace – Match Details
Date: January 15, 2024.
Time: 19:30 GMT.
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester.
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace – Team News
Ricardo Pereira, Mads Hermansen, Wilfred Ndidi and Abdul Fatawu are all sidelined due to injuries and will miss the match. Jannik Vestergaard is set to be available for selection.
For the visitors, Adam Wharton and Will Hughes are expected to miss the match.
Leicester vs Crystal Palace – Match Preview
Leicester once again showed their attacking prowess, scoring six goals against QPR. Bilal El Khannouss has been in superb form under Van Nistelrooy and will be integral alongside Facundo Buonanotte for the rest of the season. As always, defensive mistakes led to the Rangers’ two goals, with both errors coming from Harry Winks.
The Foxes will shore up their backline in the January window, with right-back Woyo Coulibaly’s transfer reportedly set to be announced in the coming days. James Justin’s strong FA Cup showing and knowing about Coulibaly’s arrival will hopefully see him regain his confidence and, most importantly, his form. Cutting down on individual mistakes is imperative for Leicester, and they know they have the attacking brilliance to make a difference on the other end.
Although Crystal Palace sit in 15th position in the league standings, they look like a totally transformed side since LCFC last faced them. They have lost just once in their past nine league games (against Arsenal) and have recorded 14 points in that period. This includes impressive performances against Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester City, and Chelsea. Their biggest strength has been avoiding defeat in games where they are the clear underdogs. They managed a point against City at home and drew away to Chelsea and Aston Villa.
Despite Leicester’s home advantage, Palace will consider themselves the slight favourite. They fought back from 2-0 down to draw with the Foxes earlier this season and are in much better form. They have not won at the King Power in almost five years but will back themselves to end that streak.
Following a calamitous 3-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers at home, Leicester know they can’t lose to another relegation rival. A win is necessary, and Leicester will be eager to build on their QPR win with a first Premier League victory in six matches.
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace – Predicted Starting Lineups
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.
Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Leicester City: Dean Henderson; Trevoh Chalobah, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi; David Muñoz, Jefferson Lerma, Cheick Doucouré, Tyrick Mitchell; Ismaïla Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze.
