Crystal Palace v Leicester preview: Foxes aim to move eight points clear of Tottenham

Leicester City will be aiming to move eight points clear of second-placed Tottenham when they face a Crystal Palace side who are yet to win in 2016.

Monday's 1-0 win over Newcastle ensured the Foxes will go into the international break as league leaders and they need 20 points to mathematically secure the title.

Claudio Ranieri's side currently have a five-point lead ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park and they will be confident of coming away with maximum points.

Palace have dropped from sixth in December to 15th and have lost their last five top-flight home games, but Alan Pardew will be hoping his side avoid equalling their longest losing run at home in Premier League history by derailing the visitors' title challenge.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Team news

Palace boss Pardew will make a late decision on Mile Jedinak's fitness.

Jedinak has a sore back and will be assessed but Connor Wickham is still out with an adductor injury and is not expected to return until after the international break.

James McArthur (ankle) and Marouane Chamakh (hip) will also miss the match at Selhurst Park as Palace look for their first league win since December.

Andy King will be assessed for Leicester after a sickness bug.

The midfielder missed the 1-0 win over Newcastle on Monday, which sent the Foxes five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Matty James is close to a return following a cruciate knee ligament injury but will not be considered for selection yet as he regains match fitness.

Opta stats

Connor Wickham has scored four goals in his last two Premier League appearances.

Andy King has scored in his last two league appearances against Palace. He has also scored on two of his last three visits to Selhurst Park with the Foxes.

All four goals in this fixture since the two teams returned to the top flight have been scored between the 50th and 60th minutes.

Jamie Vardy needs one more goal to reach 20 league goals for the season. The last Leicester player to score 20 times in a top-flight season was Gary Lineker in 1984-85 (24 - no Leicester player has done it during the Premier League era).

Merson's predictions

I'm backing Palace here. I think Alan Pardew's side will beat Leicester.

The Foxes did not look like a team at the top of the league on Monday night. I know they ground it out but if they play like that for the rest of the season they won't win the league. People will say it's good sign that they won playing below par, but they will drop points if they continue to perform like that in the remaining eight games. They've punched well above their weight all season but I can just see Palace beating them thanks to a 2-1 scoreline.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet's odds: 10/1)

Betting

Leicester are 7/5 with Sky Bet to maintain their stunning charge towards the Premier League title, as Crystal Palace are rated 2/1 outsiders for the victory and 9/4 to hold the league leaders to a draw. Monday Night Football's 1-0 victory over Newcastle saw the Foxes trimmed from even-money to 8/11 for the title, with Tottenham (5/2) considered their main threat. Claudio Ranieri's men have earned back-to-back 1-0 victories and are 6/1 to win by the same scoreline again, while Jamie Vardy is the 4/1 favourite to open the scoring.

Soccer Saturday Super 6

Crystal Palace v Leicester is part of this weekend's Soccer Saturday Super 6 line-up. Enter your predictions for free here to be in with the chance of winning £250,000.