Leicester City vs Stoke City. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,958.
Saturday 1 April 2017 15:18, UK
Leicester will be looking to make it four Premier League wins on the spin when Stoke City visit on Saturday afternoon.
Craig Shakespeare has had a huge impact since being promoted to the role of boss, becoming the first Leicester manager to win his first three Premier League games.
Despite only winning eight games all season, they are the only team in the Premier League that have won all their games when scoring first, which proves the resolution that made them champions is still lingering.
In comparison to that, Stoke have not won any of their 12 Premier League games when conceding first this season (D3 L9) - the only other sides yet to win when conceding first this season are Middlesbrough and Burnley.
Leicester will be without skipper Wes Morgan again.
The captain is nursing a back problem which sidelined him for the Foxes' 3-2 win over West Ham before the international break - the first Premier League game he has missed since December 2014.
On-loan Molla Wague is out for the season with a dislocated shoulder, having made just one appearance since joining in January, while Nampalys Mendy is a doubt with a knee injury.
Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri's calf problem will likely keep him out for an eighth straight game.
The Swiss has not featured for his club since a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on January 21, despite going away with Switzerland during the international break.
Jack Butland (ankle) is still not ready to play yet even though he has returned to training and Glen Johnson (shoulder) remains sidelined too.
Leicester City have lost just one of their five previous Premier League games against Stoke (W2 D2).
The Potters have been the victors just once in their last eight trips to Leicester in all competitions (D4 L3).
Leonardo Ulloa has scored in three of his previous five Premier League games against Stoke, but hasn't featured in a Premier League game for the Foxes since January.
Shakespeare could be the first British manager to win his first four Premier League games. The only other managers to win their opening four Premier League matches are Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.
Jamie Vardy has scored three goals and assisted two more in his three Premier League appearances under Shakespeare for Leicester City - the same number that he'd managed in his previous 18 games in the competition.
Riyad Mahrez has scored in his both of his last two Premier League games for Leicester. He hasn't scored in three in a row since December 2015.
Shinji Okazaki has appeared in 59 Premier League games since the start of last season but has completed 90 minutes in just four of these. In 2016-17, he's completed 90 minutes just once in 23 apps in the competition.
Stoke have failed to score in their last three Premier League away games - they haven't gone four without scoring on the road in the competition since March 2011 (five in a row).
The Potters have picked up just four points in seven away games in the Premier League since the start of December (W1 D1 L5).
Leicester City will be looking to win three successive home games in the Premier League for the first time in over a year (February 2016) - a run that included a victory against Stoke City.
If this was before a Champions League midweek, this would be a different game. Stoke have been a tad inconsistent, and Leicester are pulling away from the drop zone with three wins on the trot.
I'm going for 2-2; both are now around the middle of the table and are probably looking to next season. I fancy Jamie Vardy to score again, he's flying at the moment.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2, 12/1 with Sky Bet
Reigning champions Leicester will be looking to continue on an upward curve under Shakespeare and are even money at Sky Bet to win their fifth game on the trot. They have managed to score three times in three of those triumphs and are 11/2 to register exactly a treble once more against a Potters side that has won two of their last five fixtures.
Mark Hughes' men are 14/5 with a draw 12/5 while back-to-form Vardy is the 9/2 market leader to open the scoring and a 6/4 chance in the anytime market.
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