LEICESTER CITY will be looking to lift themselves off the foot of the Premier League table when they lock horns with Crystal Palace at the King Power Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
The Foxes have endured a miserable start to the campaign, with their maiden and only league win of the season not arriving until Matchday Eight, as they dished out a 4-0 thumping to East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest.
Brendan Rodgers would have been hoping that success would have acted as springboard for his struggling side, but they were brought back down to earth with a bang in a 2-1 loss at Bournemouth last Saturday.
That south coast setback coupled with results elsewhere means that the King Power club managed just one week not occupying bottom spot in the Premier League ahead of this weekend's visit from Crystal Palace.
Following a slow start to the season, the Eagles earned just their second win of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Leeds last Sunday, on afternoon where both of my Selhurst Park selections landed.
That victory moved Patrick Viera's side up to 15th position in the table and they will not endeavour to climb further up the standings and prolong Leicester's misery in the process.
Outright Betting
Despite losing seven of their last eight Premier League games, Leicester City head into this game as 13/10 favourites with Bet 365.
Crystal Palace are without a win in their last five Premier League road trips and the bookies' odds suggest that trend will continue, with the Eagles 9/4 (Unibet) outsiders while the draw can be backed at 12/5 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
This feels like a tricky fixture to tackle from a 1×2 perspective so I'm going to head to the Bet Builder market and merge over one match goal and both teams to receive a card at even-money (Bet 365).
Goals are tend to flow when the Foxes are involved, with eight of their nine league games featuring a minimum of two match strikes, while all but one of Crystal Palace's eight outings have generated at least two goals.
It's also worth pointing out that these two teams have posted just two clean sheets between them this season so there is plenty of scope for goalmouth action at the King Power on Saturday.
Given that each side carries an attacking threat and neither defence is reliable, I'm more than happy to side with over one match goal, but I'll also back both teams to collect a card in what should be a competitive contest.
The Foxes have averaged 1.44 yellow cards per-game across the opening stretch of the campaign, while the Eagles are earning 2.00 yellow cards, a tally that increases to 2.67 on their travels.
While referee Andy Madley is not renowned for being card-happy, he has dished out a card to each team in three of his last five top-flight assignments, and given the pace these and flair the two sides possess in forward areas, I'm happy to back both teams to go into the book during this televised tussle.
I’ll also be waiting to see who starts at right-back for Leicester, with the likely candidates being either Timothy Castagne or Daniel Amartey, and I'm prepared to back either player to pick up a card at 8/1 (Bet 365) and 5/1 (PaddyPower) respectively.
Whoever gets the nod should have their hands full with Wilfred Zaha – the most fouled player in Premier League history – and with that in mind, both of the above-mentioned prices look too big to ignore.
This English Premier League match between Leicester City and Crystal Palace will be played on Oct 15, 2022 and kick off at 12:30. Check below for our tipsters best Leicester City vs Crystal Palace prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
