Two teams aiming to turn their Premier League fortunes around following underwhelming results last time out meet at the Amex Stadium on Saturday evening as Brighton & Hove Albion play host to Leicester City.
Graham Potter's side controversially lost 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion in their most recent outing, whereas Leicester walked away from their midweek clash at Burnley with a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
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Two missed penalties, a Kyle Bartley header and a farcical VAR episode all contributed to Brighton's downfall at West Brom last weekend, as the Baggies claimed a vital win over their fellow relegation rivals at The Hawthorns in hugely controversial fashion.
Referee Lee Mason ultimately decided to chalk off Lewis Dunk's free kick due to the fact that his whistle had blown a second time before the ball crossed the line - a decision the Brighton captain blasted as "horrendous" - while Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck missed from the spot on a confidence-sapping day for the Seagulls.
Graham Potter was not as furious with the official as his skipper was after the match, but the Brighton manager must have spent the entire 90 minutes waiting for some luck to fall the way of the visitors, who are now winless in five across all competitions.
It is at times like these where Glenn Murray would normally come to the fore for a goal-shy Brighton, with Neal Maupay having now gone seven games without a goal in the Premier League, but Potter must move quickly to find a solution to his side's attacking woes if Brighton are to make their relatively bright start to the year count for something.
The 16th-placed Seagulls remain three points clear of the drop zone and will be thankful that the sides around them are flattering to deceive as well, but January's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur remains their sole home triumph in the league this term before they meet a Leicester side with the best away record in the whole division.
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When Jamie Vardy cannot find his shooting boots, up steps Kelechi Iheanacho, whose delightful volley ensured that an injury-hit Leicester would claim a point from their meeting with Burnley after Matej Vydra took just four minutes to capitalise on Hamza Choudhury's error and break the deadlock.
The striker's excellent finish ensured that the Foxes would not suffer three successive defeats for the first time this season after previous losses to Arsenal and Slavia Prague, but their spot in the Champions League places will undoubtedly come under threat if more points do not start to accumulate soon.
Brendan Rodgers's men have won four out of their last six in the top flight, but failure to take all three points home from the Amex would see them go three games without a win in the Premier League for the first time since June, although the third-placed Foxes know how to produce the goods on rival territory.
Indeed, Rodgers's side have only lost one away game in the top flight all season and are unbeaten in their last nine, and having followed a pattern of winning one and drawing one away from home since the turn of the year, the King Power faithful could be forgiven for expecting that trend to continue, especially as second-placed Manchester United are now just one point clear.
Since earning promotion to the big time, Brighton have lost five and drawn two of their seven meetings with Leicester, who already overcame the Seagulls 3-0 in the league and 1-0 in the FA Cup earlier in the season.
Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:
- W
- W
- D
- D
- L
- L
Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):
- W
- D
- L
- D
- L
- L
Leicester City Premier League form:
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- D
Leicester City form (all competitions):
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
Team News
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There was optimism over the fitness of highly sought-after Tariq Lamptey, who has not played for Brighton in 2021 due to a hamstring problem, but Potter has now conceded that he will not be ready in time for Saturday following a setback.
Adam Webster and Florian Andone are not expected back until next month for the hosts, who could keep a four-at-the-back system with Solly March also occupying a spot in the treatment room.
Alexis Mac Allister was hooked at half time against West Brom and could find his spot under threat from Adam Lallana here, while Welbeck is also holding out for a recall despite his penalty miss at The Hawthorns, and Aaron Connolly has emerged as a doubt with a back problem.
As for the visitors, Wesley Fofana made his return to action off the bench in a huge boost against Burnley, and the former Saint-Etienne man should be recalled to the first XI this week.
Fofana's return would allow Wilfred Ndidi to return to the engine room as Choudhury makes way, but given their numerous injuries, Rodgers is likely to keep changes to a minimum.
Indeed, the Foxes are already without Harvey Barnes and James Justin for the long term, while the quintet of Jonny Evans, Dennis Praet, Ayoze Perez, James Maddison and Wes Morgan should all return later this month, but not this weekend.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, White, Dunk, Burn; Bissouma, Gross; Jahanbakhsh, Lallana, Trossard; Welbeck
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Amartey, Soyuncu, Fofana; Ndidi; Pereira, Tielemans, Mendy, Castagne; Vardy, Iheanacho
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Leicester City
In a battle between the Premier League's best away side and joint-worst home side, there should only be one winner. Leicester's injury problems continue to throw up weekly selection dilemmas for Rodgers, but the Champions League-chasing Foxes will be eyeing an immediate return to winning ways against a shell-shocked Brighton who often struggle to make the net ripple, so we expect Brighton's wait for a first Premier League win against the Foxes to go on as Rodgers's side march to a narrow win.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leicester City win with a probability of 48.84%. A win for Brighton & Hove Albion had a probability of 25.62% and a draw had a probability of 25.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.34%) and 0-2 (8.98%). The likeliest Brighton & Hove Albion win was 1-0 (7.89%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.13%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Leicester City would win this match.
