Leicester City vs Brighton and Hove Albion. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance30,558.
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Tuesday 26 February 2019 18:56, UK
Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler will take caretaker charge of Leicester following the departure of Claude Puel as they host Brighton in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Puel was dismissed on Sunday after a poor run of results, lasting just 16 months in the job, and leaving Leicester in 12th on 32 points.
First-team coaches Stowell and Sadler will take care of the squad for Tuesday's game and are keeping the squad focused on picking up points against Brighton.
Stowell said: "It was sad, really, it's always to see the manager leave. He [Puel] had the club at heart. The performances have been really good, but sometimes you don't get the rub of the green.
"This is a good, bright team with honest players. The spirit is fantastic. In football terms, we've got to keep the ball out of one end and put it in the other. We haven't scored enough goals. They're professional players. They know they have to step up and go again. They love training and they love playing."
Despite making the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend, Brighton have only picked up two Premier League points since the start of the year and Chris Hughton is well aware of the significance the next two matches could have in their bid to avoid relegation.
"You have to be concerned but that's our job and that's the level of club that we are," Hughton said. "We've gone from being, about three Premier League games ago, in a good position in the league, seven points clear of the relegation zone, to where we are now [just three points clear] on the back of three disappointing results.
"These are the facts and we need to start picking up points in whichever way we can do that. The fact we are still in the cup, I think it's a plus for us as a club and for the momentum of the team.
"But we need to start picking up some Premier League points and Tuesday night at Leicester gives us the first opportunity and then we go into a very big game at home to Huddersfield on Saturday."
Stowell and Sadler will have a fully-fit Leicester squad to choose from, with Ben Chilwell back in contention.
Glenn Murray and Lewis Dunk should be back in the Brighton squad after sitting out the FA Cup win over Derby last weekend.
Solly March, Jurgen Locadia and Jose Izquierdo, who has been injured since December, are also back in contention, but Leon Balogun will miss out.
Leicester are unbeaten in their three Premier League meetings with Brighton, winning both games last season before drawing the reverse fixture 1-1 in December.
Brighton have won just one of their last six away league games against Leicester (D2 L3), winning 4-1 in a Championship match in April 2014.
Leicester are unbeaten in 14 home matches played on Tuesday in all competitions (W10 D4 L0) since losing 2-4 to Chelsea in the League Cup third round in September 2016.
Brighton have picked up just six points from their last 33 available in the Premier League (W1 D3 L7), with the Seagulls winning none of their six games so far in 2019 (D2 L4).
Only Fulham (18) have conceded more Premier League goals during 2019 than Leicester City (15).
Brighton manager Chris Hughton is yet to win in three away league visits to Leicester (W0 D1 L2), losing his most recent two visits to the King Power Stadium.
Leicester have only lost five consecutive home league matches on one previous occasion, doing so between January and March 1959 in the top flight.
Brighton have failed to win any of their first six league matches at the start of a calendar year for the first time since 1998, when they won none of their first nine matches in the fourth tier of English football.
You talk about teams getting dragged into it, Brighton are one of those on a glass mountain with a pair of moccasin slippers on. They're sliding quick.
I'm going for Leicester, I think we'll see a reaction from them. I don't think they were keen on the manager, from a distance it looked that way.
I thought it was only a matter of time for Claude Puel. If you lose that many home games on the trot, surely it's only a matter of time.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
