Leicester v Leeds predictions: Basement boys could be floored again

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Leicester City v Leeds United in the Premier League on Thursday.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime Video, 8.15pm Thursday

Best bet

Leeds draw no bet
1pt 6-5 Betfair, Betfred, Power

Team news

Leicester
Ricardo Pereira (Achilles), Wilfred Ndidi (thigh) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) are injured, James Maddison is suspended and Jonny Evans (calf) and Caglar Soyuncu (knee) are doubts.

Leeds
Stuart Dallas (thigh), Adam Forshaw (ankle) and Leo Fuhr Hjelde (illness) are ruled out and Archie Gray (toe) is a doubt.

Match preview

Leeds came close to claiming a major scalp when losing 1-0 at home to Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday but they should have better luck when taking on basement boys Leicester at the King Power Stadium.

Jesse Marsch's players were guilty of poor finishing against the Gunners but there were lots of positive aspects to the performance which suggested that better results are just around the corner.

Leeds are without a victory in six games, which is their longest winless run since Marsch was appointed in February.

However, opportunities to bounce back do not come much better than a trip to a Leicester side short of confidence and substantially weakened by James Maddison's one-match suspension.

Maddison has been the shining light of Leicester's dismal start to the campaign, showing a fearless attitude with his efforts to influence games and providing five goals and two assists.

He was the architect of Leicester's 4-0 success at home to Nottingham Forest, scoring two goals and assisting once, and his absence will hinder the Foxes as they go in search of their second win of the season.

It was hoped that the victory over Forest would mark a turning point in Leicester's season, but they followed up with a 2-1 loss at Bournemouth five days later and could manage only a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Leicester were the more threatening side against Palace, but there was a lack of quality and composure in front of goal and those deficiencies are only going to be exacerbated by Maddison's absence.

Brendan Rodgers could do with some of his other big players stepping up, but Youri Tielemans has been struggling for a while and Jamie Vardy is no longer assured of a place in the starting line up.

The Foxes look like a team in need of freshening up, while Leeds are benefiting from adding a few fresh faces in the summer.

There were understandable concerns from Leeds fans after the departures of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, but the money seems to have been reinvested wisely with new arrivals Rasmus Kristensen, Brendan Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Marc Roca and Luis Sinisterra quickly establishing themselves as first-team regulars.

A few teething problems were to be expected after making so many changes, but the performance against Arsenal was encouraging and it could be followed by an upturn in results, starting with a win against Leicester.