Arsenal vs Leicester Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

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Haydn Cunningham Feb 09, 2016 @ 09:56 pm

Arsene Wenger may have had a wry smile at Manchester City’s defeat at home to Leicester City last weekend in the noon kick off on Saturday afternoon but the harsh reality is that they could well have the same punishment handed to them if they don’t buck their ideas up. A couple of minutes against Bournemouth proved what they’re capable of at their best as goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sealed a 2-0 victory but Petr Cech was one of the standout performers with a number of fine saves to deny the newly promoted South-coast club. Arsenal have fallen behind bitter North-London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League and not many would’ve predicted that Leicester and Tottenham would lead the table heading into the middle of February. Arsenal might not have a better chance to win the title that they haven’t won for over a decade and the pressure is firmly on Arsene Wenger to give the fans what they crave.

Despite having a number of memorable victories this season, their opponents on Sunday are one of just a few sides that have beaten them this season. Many thought that would be the start of the rapid decline but they’ve simply gone from strength to strength. The latest 3-1 victory at title hopefuls Manchester City proved just how far they’ve come and no one can deny them their spot at the top. The victory has also instilled them as favourites for the first time this season and people are starting to believe Leicester can win the league. The pressure of being the leaders doesn’t appear to faze them and they demonstrated at the Etihad Stadium how emphatic they can be on the counter attack with Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy continuing to tear through opposition defences. The latter has just recently signed a new contract and his stunning brace in the 2-0 home victory over Liverpool a week ago was watched by England manager Roy Hodgson who surely has to find a spot for the Premier League’s top goal scorer at Euro 2016 this summer.

In the last 15 meetings between the 2 sides, Leicester City have never recorded a victory over the Gunners. That run stretches back to 1998 and Arsenal clearly favour playing Leicester. They’re a different opposition under Claudio Ranieri but in the reverse fixture earlier this season Arsenal had a convincing 5-2 victory which inflicted Leicester’s first defeat of the Premier League season and they’ve only lost 1 other game in the league. 

Per Mertesacker was dropped against Bournemouth as Wenger drafted in Gabriel to deal with the pace of Benik Afobe on Sunday and he could opt to keep this change as Jamie Vardy is extremely quick and lively and Mertesacker would struggle immensely to deal with the inform forward. Leicester will once again name an unchanged line up as they look to cause one of the biggest ever upsets in world football.

Arsenal

Stats: W-14 L-5 D-6

Recent Form – WDLDD

Leicester City

Stats: W-15 L-2 D-8                                          

Recent Form - WWWDW

Head-to-head record:

Possible Line-ups

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) – Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez, Giroud

Leicester (4-4-2) – Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs, Albrighton, Kante, Drinkwater, Mahrez, Okazaki, Vardy

Injury List/Suspended Players

Arsenal – Rosicky (inj), Welbeck (inj), Wilshere (inj), Arteta (inj)

Leicester City – Schlupp (inj), James (inj)

League Positions