Leicester vs Southampton prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-04-22 19:00.
[p]After posting back-to-back defeats, many Leicester fans may have been fearing the worst with a host of sides piling up behind with the intention of dumping the Foxes out of the top-two. Enzo Maresca’s men responded in good fashion over the weekend to re-establish themselves at the summit with a 2-1 win in their Midlands derby against West Brom, although they must keep up that intensity here with Ipswich and Leeds breathing down their necks.[/p]
[p]No matter what anybody else does, two wins from the final three games will be enough for Leicester to secure an immediate Premier League return, and one of those could confirm a first winning league double against Southampton since 2011/12. Playing at home should help in that pursuit, as with 15 wins from his first 20 home league games as Leicester boss (W15, D1, L4), Maresca has recorded more victories in that time than any Foxes boss since Andy Aitken in 1910 (16 wins)![/p]
[p]As well as having to overcome Leicester’s strong home form, another negative for the Saints is their record against the other teams in the current top four this season, as they’ve picked up the fewest points on average per game of all four sides (0.8 – W1, L3). Many of the travelling faithful will have felt like their automatic promotion push was back on after three straight wins, but a painful 2-1 loss at Cardiff over the weekend means that another defeat here coupled with an Ipswich win will consign them to the play-offs.[/p]
[p]That seems likely if Southampton’s travelling form is anything to go by as they’ve won just twice across their last seven trips (D1, L4), conceding three goals in three of those defeats. Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that Southampton’s last two away defeats came after taking a first-half lead, which have ultimately contributed to them failing to see out victories ten times from winning positions in this league season (D7, L3).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Leicester veteran Jamie Vardy netted against West Brom, and with seven career goals vs Southampton, most wouldn’t back against him making it two scoring appearances in a row. One of those H2H strikes came in the 4-1 reverse win for Leicester, a match that saw Ché Adams assist the Saints’ only goal. He also comes into this fixture in red hot form, with four strikes across as many appearances. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Southampton have failed to score in a comfortable league-low three games this season. [/p]