Brighton v Leicester predictions: Foxes can hold their own

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Brighton v Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 2pm Sunday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 13-5 Betfred

Team news

Brighton
Jeremy Sarmiento is fit again but Adam Lallana and Jakub Moder remain out.

Leicester
Ryan Bertrand is out. New centre-back Wout Faes should be involved.

Preview

It's taken only five matches for a debate to start over whether Leicester are too good or not to go down – more pressingly, are they too good to lose at Brighton, and the answer's very clearly, no.

Leicester have got off to a shocker with one point out of a possible 15 and Brendan Rodgers taking a leaf out of Scott Parker's book by criticising his board's transfer policy – and we know how that panned out for the former Bournemouth boss.

To be fair to Rodgers, his toy-throwing rant was slightly more measured, slightly more appreciative of his employers than Parker's, although you can understand his ire.

With Premier League clubs breaking banks to bring in new players, the Foxes have been left behind. Wout Faes, a Belgian centre-back from Reims, is the only new face, presumably a straight swap for Wesley Fofana since Rodgers refuses to trust Caglar Soyuncu anymore.

Faes, incidentally, has played his football in recent times as part of a back three at Reims, and hasn't been involved in a clean sheet in any of his last 11 matches. Make of that what you will.

Back to the original point, clearly Leicester are not too good to lose at Brighton, who are going well this season.

As ever with Brighton, a side who struggle to score goals, the question for them is - are they good value at odds-on? And again, the answer is probably no.

So the draw, the outcome of their last two meetings - one in the league, the other in the League Cup - is recommended.

These teams entered the weekend pretty much the length of the Premier League apart, yet they boast the same number of goals scored – six. Two of Brighton's have come from the spot.

Albion's great strength has been their defence, which is remarkable when you consider Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella have been sold soon after Dan Burn's winter exit to Newcastle. Yet it was three clean sheets in four until Tuesday night when they lost – deservedly – 2-1 at Fulham.

At the other end the same question is being asked - where are the goals going to come from?

They scored only 42 last year but finished ninth so good were they at nicking results, and this time round, with Neal Maupay also departed and not replaced, they become increasingly reliant on the injury-prone Danny Welbeck, a man who hasn't scored more than six in a league campaign since the 2013-14 season.

Leicester, in contrast, have loads of firepower – they just aren't firing very well. They weren't good against United, but it was their first failure to notch in ten. They are leaking more and far less reliable at the back, but are Brighton canny enough in the final third to break through?

Leicester aren't too good to go down, but they really ought to be good enough to stop the bleeding at the Amex.

Key stat

In ten previous Premier League meetings, Leicester have never lost a second half against Brighton (W5, D5)

Inside info

Brighton

Penalty taker Alexis Mac Allister/Leandro Trossard
Assist ace Pascal Gross
Set-piece aerial threat Lewis Dunk
Card magnet Alexis Mac Allister

Leicester

Penalty taker Jamie Vardy
Assist ace James Maddison
Set-piece aerial threat Jonny Evans
Card magnet Jonny Evans

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport