Leicester v Southampton predictions: Foxes geared for another strong finish

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final between Leicester and Southampton at Wembley.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 6.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Leicester to win second half
1pt 6-5 general

Team news

Leicester
Caglar Soyuncu is back after a Covid-19 scare and Cengiz Under is fit to return. James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury and Ayoze Perez are available after being disciplined.

Southampton
Southampton have no fresh injury concerns with Michael Obafemi, Oriol Romeu and Will Smallbone all still out. Takumi Minamino is cup-tied.

Match preview

Leicester City and the FA Cup haven’t seen eye-to-eye in the past but that could change in Sunday’s semi-final against Southampton.

The Foxes, who have never won football’s oldest competition, are odds-on to see off the Saints and punch their ticket to their first FA Cup final in 52 years.

Putting aside who they’ll meet in the final, a first major trophy in English football for Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers is now tantalisingly close but his opposite number Ralph Hasenhuttl is under no illusions as to the size of the occasion as he looks to emulate Southampton’s FA Cup heroics of 1976.

The FA Cup is the be-all and end-all for the Saints now after a nosedive down the Premier League table. A 2-0 loss to Leicester the last time the sides met in January is just one of 11 defeats they have suffered in the top flight in 2021, most recently slumping to a 3-0 loss at West Brom.

It has been a different story in the cup, though, and Southampton are yet to concede a goal in this year’s competition. The Saints have tended to raise their game for the big occasion this season and the lucky 4,000 fans at Wembley can expect to be entertained.

Southampton and Leicester have been among the goals recently, each netting at least twice in four of their last five outings, while keeping just one clean sheet each in the same period.

The Foxes were involved in a five-goal thriller last Sunday as they slipped to a 3-2 loss at West Ham, a defeat that was compounded by the news of five Leicester players breaching Covid-19 protocols.

James Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Hamza Choudhury are likely to return from the naughty step and a positive response can be expected from a Leicester side who have never lost three games in a row under Rodgers.

In a game with so much at stake, it could take a while for the breakthrough to come and that plays into the hands of a Leicester side who have scored 33 of their 55 league goals (60 per cent) after the interval.

The Foxes can be relied on to keep fighting right up until the end having scored more goals (19) in the final 15 minutes than any side in the Premier League this season.

With Maddison back and Kelechi Iheanacho still enjoying his purple patch, Leicester have what it takes to end the game the stronger side and potentially move a step closer to a maiden FA Cup success.

Key stat

No player has scored more FA Cup goals than Kelechi Iheanacho's tally of 13 since the start of the 2015-16 season.

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