Match Pack: Leicester vs Saints

Leicester vs Saints

Premier League

King Power Stadium

Saturday 20th May, 3pm BST

Referee: Michael Salisbury

Assistants: Neil Davis, Natalie Aspinall

Fourth official: Stuart Attwell

VAR: Michael Oliver

Assistant VAR: Stuart Burt

Saints will be wearing their white and red home shirt with white shorts for the showdown at the King Power.

With both sides only managing one point in six out of their opening two games of the season, three points would provide a huge boost as the 2022/23 campaign ramps up.

For the hosts, opening day saw a home draw with Brentford before they fell to a 4-2 defeat in North London at Arsenal.

After an unfulfilling opening day trip to Tottenham, Saints came from two goals behind to claim an impressive point against Leeds United last time out, with Kyle Walker-Peters and Joe Aribo both finding the net at St Mary’s.

While Leicester came out on top when the two sides met on the closing day of the 2021/22 season, it was 2-2 when Leicester visited St Mary’s back in December, with it all to play for in the East Midlands.

Leicester are boosted by the return of Harvey Barnes, who could make his first appearance of the Premier League season against Saints.

Ralph Hasenhüttl has added options in defence, with the return to full fitness of Lyanco, who becomes available for the trip to Leicester after missing out on the Leeds clash.

Ché Adams had a slight problem after Leeds but has returned to training with the boss confident he will be fit for Saturday’s clash.

Romain Perraud and Tino Livramento remain out for Saints.


THE MANAGERS


Brendan Rodgers: “It’s always a difficult game against Southampton. They’ve made signings so have a freshness in the squad. They showed their spirit last week. The onus is on. We played 60 minutes of our last home game to a good level. Two weeks on, we want to show that improvement.”


Ralph Hasenhüttl: “They have played a few competitive games and international football, a side which has played for the top 10 in the last years. You can see the quality that they have in every position. It’s a ground where we like to go because we’ve had some good games there.”

ONES TO WATCH

James Maddison: Even during a testing opening couple of fixtures, Leicester's James Maddison has shown how important he is to his team through his mix of goalscoring and creativity. The Englishman gave the Foxes hope at the Emirates last week with a smart finish from a tight angle and will be looking to continue his good run with home advantage.

Kyle Walker-Peters: Early form this season suggests Saints' exciting full-back is carrying on his rise from last campaign. Walker-Peters' impressive finish against Leeds last-time-out encapsulated just that, with the man himself admitted this was as a result of the hard work put in on the training pitch over the summer. Adding yet another element to his game means the 25-year-old proves an even more important cog in Hasenhüttl's side.

TOP PERFORMERS
2021/22 statistics inclusive of all competitions

LEICESTER

Goals:
James Maddison 18
Jamie Vardy 17
Barnes, Daka 11


Assists:
Harvey Barnes 13
James Maddison 12
Kelechi Iheanacho 9

James Ward-Prowse 11

Armando Broja 9

Elyounoussi, Adams 8

James Ward-Prowse 8

Nathan Redmond 6

Elyounoussi, Walker-Peters 4

Played: 96

Leicester: 32

Draws: 30

Saints: 34

May 2022: Leicester 4-1 Saints (Ward-Prowse)

December 2021: Saints 2-2 Leicester (Bednarek, Adams)

April 2021: Saints 1-1 Leicester (Ward-Prowse)

April 2021: Leicester 1-0 Saints

January 2021: Leicester 2-0 Saints

January 2020: Leicester 1-2 Saints (Armstrong, Ings)

- Against no side has Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse scored more Premier League goals than he has against Leicester (4), with three of his four against them coming from the penalty spot.

Can't make the game? We’ve got you covered! We’ll bring you all of the action from King Power Stadium, as well as a host of behind-the-scenes access.

Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match, and be sure to follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:

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