Leicester City vs Norwich City: Preview & Prediction

Having had a fortnight to recover from their gut-wrenching defeat at Arsenal, Leicester will look to get straight back on track against a Norwich side winless in six matches.

The last-gasp reverse at the Emirates was Leicester’s first defeat since Boxing Day, which cut their lead at the top of the Premier League to just two points; how they react will be crucial, and Norwich in their current form are, on paper, ideal opponents.

Manager Claudio Ranieri has warned his side that Saturday represents a tougher test than the Arsenal fixture, with Norwich likely to pack the midfield and get men behind the ball as they scrap for survival.

The Foxes will simply look to play their normal game against the Canaries, and will be confident of bringing up their eighth home league win of this remarkable season to put the pressure back on Arsenal and Tottenham ahead of their matches on Sunday.

Norwich’s 2-2 draw at home to West Ham last time out stopped a miserable run of five defeats on the spin, but having been 2-0 up with quarter of an hour to play, even that result would have felt like a loss for spectators and players alike.

A leaky defence remains their Achilles heel; the Canaries have conceded 50 goals this season, the joint-worst tally in the Premier League. Thirty (30) of those 50 conceded have been shipped on the road, and they will have their work cut out against the free-scoring Foxes.

Norwich’s last league visit to Leicester saw them claim a 3-2 win in the Championship five years ago, with Wes Hoolahan amongst the scorers. The Irishman is one of three players who started that fixture to still be at Carrow Road, with John Ruddy and Russell Martin the others.

Team News:

Danny Simpson will sit out Saturday’s clash after his sending off at the Emirates, but Leicester are boosted by the return to full training of Jeffrey Schlupp. Ranieri has described Jamie Vardy as being at ‘80% fitness’, and new signing Daniel Amartey is also in contention having come through 90 minutes for the Under-21s this week.

Andre Wisdom is the only absentee for Norwich, although boss Alex neil could choose to replace Cameron Jerome with Dieumerci Mbokani up front.

League Positions: Leicester – 1st (53 pts); Norwich – 17th (24 pts)
Previous Meeting: Norwich 1-2 Leicester – October 3, 2015
League Form: Leicester – WDWWWL; Norwich – LLLLLD
Key Players: Leicester – Riyad Mahrez; Norwich – Steven Naismith
Shoot Says: Leicester 3-1 Norwich