Leicester v Swansea preview: Foxes set to be unchanged
Saturday 18 April 2015 15:06, UK
Back-to-back wins against West Ham and West Brom have given Leicester City a glimmer of hope in their quest for Premier League survival.
The Foxes are still bottom of the top flight, but with a game in hand on their nearest rivals Burnley and two on 18th-placed Queens Park Rangers, survival is not out of reach.
Swansea are in good form themselves though, despite having little to play for in eighth position.
Garry Monk’s side beat Aston Villa and Hull, before drawing with Everton in their last game, and will be looking for three more points to further close the gap on Tottenham.
Team news
Leicester boss Nigel Pearson has a fully-fit squad and the Foxes could be unchanged.
Victory by three goals and favourable results elsewhere would see the Foxes escape the relegation zone for the first time since November.
Matthew Upson is fit after recovering from an Achilles problem, despite failing to make the squad for last weekend's dramatic 3-2 win at West Brom.
Swansea striker Nelson Oliveira has recovered from an ankle injury and is in contention to make only his second Premier League start.
Oliveira joined on loan from Benfica in January and his only previous start came in the 5-0 home defeat to Chelsea, but Bafetimbi Gomis' absence for a month with a hamstring injury has given him the opportunity to lead the attack for the next few weeks.
Manager Garry Monk has a defensive dilemma with Neil Taylor suspended, Kyle Naughton injured and fellow full-backs Dwight Tiendalli and Jazz Richards out on loan so Jordi Amat is set for a rare start, possibly in a new formation featuring three central defenders.
Stats
The home side has won the last seven competitive meetings between Leicester City and Swansea City.
Swansea are unbeaten in their last three PL games (W2 D1) – They haven’t gone four PL games without a defeat in a single season since January 2013.
Leicester have scored 2+ goals in three successive Premier League games for the first time since November 2003. They have not done it in four consecutive PL games since May 2000.
Esteban Cambiasso has scored four goals from five shots on target in the Premier League.
Leicester have won both of their games so far in April this season, after a run of 17 Premier League games in April without a win before that.
Swansea have taken 10 points from their last four Premier League games in April (W3 D1).
Swansea have conceded exactly one goal in their last six Premier League games in April.
David Nugent needs one more goal to match his best total of six goals in a Premier League campaign. Four of his five PL goals this season have come away from home, though.
Bafétimbi Gomis has three goals in his last three Premier League appearances.
Last season the team who were bottom after 31 games avoided the drop (Sunderland).
Merson's prediction
I’ve said all along Leicester will get out of the relegation zone. Compared to Burnley, Nigel Pearson’s side create plenty of chances and they have more players who can find the back of the net. For that reason I fancy their chances against Swansea and I really think they can survive the drop.
The fact Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis is out injured helps their chances. Without the Frenchman It’s going to be a difficult task for Garry Monk’s side, so I’m going for a home win.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Leicester are fancied to boost their survival chances with another victory on Saturday, with Sky Bet making them 6/5 favourites against Swansea, who are 9/4 for the win. The bookmaker pushed Nigel Pearson’s men out from 1/3 to evens to be relegated following their 3-2 victory at West Brom, despite the three points not being enough to pull them off the bottom of the table, as three of the fellow strugglers remaining in their path.
Leonardo Ulloa and David Nugent share favouritism at 11/2 in a wide-open first goalscorer market, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Marvin Emnes (both 15/2) considered the visitors’ biggest threats in Bafetimbi Gomis’ absence.
