clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Match Preview: Leicester City vs West Bromwich Albion

Fresh off the international break the Foxes look to ignite their season

Leicester City v Liverpool - Premier League Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Leicester City 17th (1-2-4) vs West Brom 10th (2-3-2)

Monday 3:00 PM ET, King Power Stadium

Leicester was lucky last time out in the Premier League to leave the Vitality stadium with a point. The Foxes faced a total 19 shots in the match, many of which should have punished a side that had very little quality on the day, but that’s football, as they say.

How to Watch

Leicester will be live on NBCSN and on their mobile app as well.

The Competition

The Baggies had a tough outing in their last Premier league match against Watford. They saw a two goal lead slip away at the death thanks to a Richarlison goal in 90+5. West Brom has had varied success on the road this year, one win and two losses, but matches versus Leicester have been very competitive as of late.

WBA player Gareth Barry in action during the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Watford at The Hawthorns on September 30, 2017 in West Bromwich, England.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

Set piece defense will be a big key to victory in this match. West Brom have three headed goals so far this season and two goals from set pieces. Their defense has been shaky and the best way to score against them is to tuck it in the bottom right or left corner. They’ve conceded all eight goals in those two spots, five and three respectively.

The Foxes

I’d be lying if I said Leicester deserved even a point from their last match. The sad part is they definitely had chances to steal all three point, albeit slim, but still a chance. With no fresh injuries to report, Craig Shakespeare looks to have a much healthier squad than he did before the international break. Jamie Vardy, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Vicente Iborra all seem to have used the break to work out their injuries.

What does this mean for the Foxes, though? Will we see a change of shape, or midfield, or strike partnership? Nobody will want a repeat of the last match, nor should they stand for it if it happens again. The reality is this, Leicester will need to use this run of home games, three of their next four including a cup tie, to put a run of top performances in and climb up the table. They certainly don’t want to be near the bottom looking into November.

Leicester City v Liverpool - Premier League
Craig Shakespeare, manager of Leicester City speaks to Jamie Vardy of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at The King Power Stadium on September 23, 2017 in Leicester, England.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

The History

Leicester City’s last win at home in the top flight against West Brom was in 1994. Since returning to the Premier League, Leicester are 3-1-2 against the Baggies, winning the lion share of those matches 3-2. Leicester also edged West Brom in the pre-season at the PL Asia Trophy tournament in penalties.

The Prediction

It has to be a must win for Leicester and perhaps even Craig Shakespeare. I know there isn’t a whole lot of talk right now for his job given Leicester’s grueling start, but should results against “lower opposition” not fall his way, things could get bad quick. Given that I think Leicester fight to a 3-1 victory on the back of Jamie Vardy hat-trick.