Football Previews

Leicester City vs Burnley preview, predictions & possible XIs

By Steve Jennings

Published: 11:00, 19 October 2019

Leicester City will look to consolidate their place in the top four when they host Burnley on Saturday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side sit fourth going into the weekend and could climb to as high as second if other results go their way.

https://audioboom.com/posts/7399272

Meanwhile, Burnley are just two points behind the Foxes and will likely want to prove that they are capable of pushing the sides fighting for a place in Europe.

Read on for our preview, predictions, team news, key men and more.

When is Leicester vs Burnley and where can I watch live?

Competition: Premier League

Venue: King Power Stadium

Date: Saturday, 19 August 2019

Kick-off: 3:00 PM BST

TV coverage (UK): N/A

Last five meetings: Leicester vs Burnley

16 March 2019: Burnley 1-2 Leicester (Premier League)

10 November 2018: Leicester 0-0 Burnley (Premier League)

14 April 2018: Burnley 2-1 Leicester (Premier League)

2 December 2017: Leicester 1-0 Burnley (Premier League)

31 January 2017: Burnley 1-0 Leicester (Premier League)

Aggregate Score: Leicester (WDLWL) 4-4 Burnley (LDWLW)

Ones to watch

Leicester: James Maddison

James Maddison is expected to play despite struggling with an ankle problem and illness of late. The midfielder was on the scoresheet at Anfield last time out and was unfortunate to see his goal mean very little in the end.

But as a result, he will be determined to make a tangible impact here. Maddison is starting to add goals to his game, which is mostly based on creativity. A combination of the two could make him a target for the top six, but Leicester will be hoping his form makes them a top six side.

Key stat: Maddison has attempted more shots (21) than any other Leicester player in the Premier League this season.

Burnley: James Tarkowski

James Tarkowski was linked with Leicester when the Foxes were reportedly looking for a Harry Maguire replacement. In the end, they didn’t sign a new centre-back and Caglar Soyuncu has stepped in admirably.

Burnley couldn’t be happier about that. Tarkowski remains one of the Clarets’ most important players, and he will have to be on his game to track the runs Jamie Vardy constantly makes in-behind. He’s also likely to be marking Soyuncu at set-pieces, which could be an interesting contest.

Key stat: Tarkowski has won at least 13 more total duels than any other Burnley player in the Premier League this season (67).

Team news

Leicester

Maddison withdrew from England duty through illness but Rodgers expects to have the midfielder available. Dennis Praet has not been with the squad this week for personal reasons but will return on Friday. Rodgers otherwise has a fully fit group to choose from.

Predicted XI: Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Ndidi; Perez, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy.

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.

Burnley

Johann Berg Gudmundsson suffered a hamstring injury during the international break and has been ruled out for several weeks. Jack Cork (shoulder) is a doubt, while Ashley Barnes (groin) faces a fitness test and Danny Drinkwater (ankle) is out.

Predicted XI: Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Lennon, Hendrick, Westwood, McNeil; Rodriguez, Wood.

Squawka prediction

Leicester shouldn’t expect to cut through Burnley as easily as they did Newcastle in their last home game. Still, the Foxes should have enough to see off their opponents and potentially move up to second in the table.

Scoreline prediction: Leicester 1-0 Burnley