Leicester City v Aston Villa: Premier League betting preview, free tip & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Leicester City v Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League / Main Event, 8pm Monday

Best bet

Leicester to win & both teams to score
1pt 7-4 BoyleSports
Click to back this tip with Coral

Team news

Leicester City
Jamie Vardy could return after missing two games through injury but Nampalys Mendy and Daniel Amartey remain out.

Aston Villa
Pepe Reina should return between the sticks but Wesley, Tom Heaton, John McGinn and Jed Steer are long-term absentees.

Match preview

Aston Villa overcame Leicester when the sides met in the League Cup semi-finals last month but three league losses and a Wembley defeat by Manchester City will have humbled Dean Smith's men.

The Villans beat Leicester 3-2 over two games but were arguably fortunate to win at Villa Park in the second leg, which was settled by Trezeguet's injury-time strike after Leicester had won the shot count 22-9 and had 63 per cent of the ball.

Smith's side have looked tired since then, losing to Bournemouth, Tottenham and Southampton before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final.

That match has put them a game behind in the Premier League, bringing with it a psychological disadvantage as results elsewhere have nudged them into the drop zone.

There can be little dispute that Villa deserve to be there, though, given they have conceded an alarming 52 goals in 27 matches and have won only seven games all season despite forking out close to £150 million last summer.

Only Tottenham (29) have used more players than Villa's 28 this term and the chopping and changing due to injuries has not helped their cause.

One player who needed to be shoehorned into the starting 11 as a result of Wesley's injury was January addition Mbwana Samatta, who has two goals in five games and can at least help them get on the scoresheet at the King Power Stadium.

Two clean sheets in their last six assignments show Leicester are far from impenetrable at the back but they are too strong overall to oppose in this game.

The Foxes had taken their foot off the pedal with a top-three spot in sight but they scored their first goal in 387 minutes against Birmingham in the FA Cup and that 1-0 win should spur on a side who had been winless in five games.

They are a force at the King Power - only Liverpool and Manchester City boast better home records - and they should be able to welcome back Jamie Vardy for this contest.

Vardy has been out of form but the Foxes will be stronger for the return of their top scorer, who netted a brace when the sides met in the league in December.

Brendan Rodgers benched Ayoze Perez, Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans for their FA Cup clash and City should be fresh enough to justify favouritism.

Rodgers knows how quickly a good season can unravel and will not allow Leicester to rest on their laurels so a Foxes win and both teams to score looks a worthwhile bet.