EPL: Gunners face Foxes test

Leicester City vs. Arsenal
Venue: King Power Stadium
Kick off: 1PM

One of the standout fixtures in the next round of Premier League action will take place at the King Power Stadium this afternoon as Leicester City welcome Arsenal.

Leicester are currently third in the Premier League table, level on points with second-placed Manchester United, while Arsenal sit down in 11th spot, 11 points behind fourth-placed West Ham United.

Leicester are very much in the mix for a top-four finish in this season’s Premier League, with the Foxes picking up 49 points from their 25 matches to occupy third spot in the table, level on points with second-placed Man United and six clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, meaning that they have a nice cushion at this stage.

Brendan Rodgers’s side have picked up 10 points from their last four league matches, including back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Aston Villa, but they will enter this game off the back of a disappointing 2-0 loss to Slavia Prague in the second leg of their last-32 Europa League clash on Thursday night.

Leicester’s European journey for the 2020-21 campaign has finished, but they are still in the FA Cup – taking on Man United in the quarter-finals of the competition on March 21 – and have plenty to play for in the league as they bid to secure a return to the Champions League for the 2021-22 season.

Rodgers’s side have been excellent on their travels this term, boasting the second-best away record in England’s top flight, but they have lost five of their 12 league fixtures at the King Power Stadium and will certainly be wary of an Arsenal team that are full of talent despite their struggles.

Leicester have not lost to the Gunners in England’s top flight since October 2018, though, and recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams locked horns in the reverse match at the Emirates Stadium in October.

Arsenal also looked to be heading out of the Europa League on Thursday as they trailed Benfica 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate just past the hour of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

Kieran Tierney scored in the 67th minute, though, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted the decisive goal in the 87th minute, which saw Mikel Arteta’s side advance to the round of 16, where they will face Olympiacos.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a desperately disappointing league campaign for the club once again, though, and their poor form continued last weekend as they suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City, making it just three points from their last four fixtures in England’s top flight.

A total of 34 points from 25 matches has left them down in 11th position in the table, 11 points off the top four and actually only four points clear of Southampton in 14th, which is an indication of their struggles.

Arsenal’s away form this season has also been disappointing, losing six of their 12 league fixtures on their travels, and another poor result on Sunday would leave them in a vulnerable position ahead of a run which includes games against Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Liverpool.

Leicester City possible XI: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Castagne, Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Mendy, Barnes, Vardy.

Arsenal possible XI: Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Thomas, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang.