Leicester vs Bournemouth preview: Brendan Rodgers looking for third win in a row

Leicester resume Premier League action at home against Bournemouth on Saturday, with Brendan Rodgers looking for a third straight victory.

"My intention when I came in was to finish the season strong and then get a pre-season behind us," he said.

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"This game will be a test for us as Bournemouth are a very good team, a very consistent team with good speed in their side and a lot of dynamic players. Bournemouth's strength is their team, they work very hard.

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"Eddie Howe has done a tremendous job in his time there, taking them through the levels, and they have been able to sustain their Premier League status and are now very much an established Premier League club.

"They have a core of players who have come through on the journey and understand what it is to play for Bournemouth."

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Bournemouth return to Premier League action at the King Power Stadium this weekend with Eddie Howe keen to finish the campaign on a high.

He said: "We are still right in the phase of the season where anything is possible, there are still a lot of points to play for. A lot can change in seven games."

Team news

Harry Maguire is suspended. The centre-back was sent off after only four minutes of his side's win at Burnley prior to the international break and he must serve a one-match ban. Wes Morgan is likely to replace Maguire, although Caglar Soyuncu is also an option.

The Foxes had nine players away on international duty and all of them have returned fit.

Bournemouth will continue to monitor Junior Stanislas, Adam Smith and Dan Gosling ahead of the game.

Winger Stanislas has missed the last six matches with a hip flexor problem, while midfielder Gosling (knee) has been out for three games and defender Smith also stepped up his recovery from a thigh strain over the international break.

Midfielder Andrew Surman (calf) Simon Francis and Lewis Cook (both knee) are all long-term absentees and Steve Cook (groin) continues his rehabilitation.

Opta facts

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• Leicester City have never beaten Bournemouth in the Premier League in seven attempts (P7 W0 D5 L2), facing the Cherries more often without winning than any other opponent in the competition.
• Bournemouth are winless in five away league visits to Leicester (W0 D3 L2) since a 1-0 win on Boxing Day in 1988 under Harry Redknapp.
• Among Premier League fixtures to have played at least five times, only Bournemouth vs Watford (75%) has a higher percentage of draws than Bournemouth vs Leicester (71 per cent), with five of the seven previous meetings ending level.
• Leicester are looking to win three consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since May 2017, when they won their first five under Craig Shakespeare.
• After a run of nine successive away league defeats, Bournemouth won their last Premier League game on the road. None of their last 18 away games in the Premier League have finished level (W5 D0 L13).
• Bournemouth haven't won any of their last 12 Premier League games in which they've conceded a goal (D3 L9) since beating Huddersfield 2-1 in December. Only Huddersfield themselves (33 games) are on a longer such run among teams currently in the competition.
• Leicester have been shown a league-high five red cards in the Premier League this season, while Bournemouth's opponents have had more sendings off than any other side in the division this term (6).
• Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is winless in seven away league visits to Leicester City during his managerial career (W0 D4 L3).
• Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has won all three of his games in all competitions against Bournemouth - the only teams he has a better 100 per cent win record against in his career are Hamilton Academical (9 wins), Fulham (7) and Coventry City (5).
• Bournemouth midfielder Jefferson Lerma has received 11 yellow cards in the Premier League this season, more than any other player; the last player to receive more in his debut season in the competition was Cheick Tioté in 2010-11 (14 yellow cards).

Merson's prediction

This should be an entertaining one, both sides will have a go. But the influence of Brendan Rodgers will be the difference here. He will have had another week to work with his players. The longer this goes on, I can only see positive things for Leicester.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1