Premier League | Gameweek 15

Dec 8, 2024 at 2pm UK

King Power Stadium

Leicestervs.Brighton

Match preview

After a tough six-game losing streak in the Premier League and EFL Cup, which saw former head coach Steve Cooper leave his role, Leicester finally got back to winning ways with a victory against West Ham at the King Power Stadium.

The Van Nistelrooy era got off to a flying start in the East Midlands as Jamie Vardy put the Foxes ahead in the Tuesday night contest within the first two minutes, before Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka scored in the second half to secure the win, despite a late goal from Germany international Niclas Fullkrug for West Ham.

Leicester are now looking for back-to-back home wins for the first time since April. They're in 16th place in the Premier League after beating West Ham, four points ahead of fellow newly-promoted team Ipswich Town, who are in the relegation zone.

Even though he was mostly on the bench under Enzo Maresca in the Championship during the 2023-24 season, club legend Vardy is back in the spotlight for the Foxes in the top flight. He's already made seven goal contributions across 13 Premier League appearances.

Leicester have only lost three of their opening seven league fixtures at the King Power, so they should be relatively confident of collecting a positive result on Sunday afternoon. However, only Crystal Palace (1), Ipswich (0), Wolverhampton Wanderers (1) and Southampton (1) have won fewer than the Foxes' two home matches this term.

Brighton's winning streak came to an end on Thursday night when they were beaten by Fulham. The two teams have met nine times in the Premier League and Fulham have won all of those games.

Midfield general Carlos Baleba scored his second league goal of the season to level the score at Craven Cottage after Alex Iwobi put the hosts ahead early on. However, Matt O'Riley then scored an own goal and the Nigeria international got his second of the match, which sealed a comfortable win for Marco Silva's team.

Brighton were at fault for Fulham's first goal in the capital clash. Bart Verbruggen made a poor pass that gave the ball to Iwobi in the fourth minute. The Seagulls have already conceded six goals this term due to individual errors. Only Southampton (9) have conceded more.

Despite recent mistakes, head coach Fabian Hurzeler insists his team won't alter their plan of attack. It's hard to argue with that approach, given that Sunday's visitors to Leicester are sitting fifth in the Premier League, just three points off the Champions League spots.

Brighton have lost all three of their away games this season, but they're a strong team on the road. They've only lost more away games than they have than to the league leaders Liverpool and Chelsea.

Recent Performance

Leicester City Premier League form:LDLLLW

Leicester City form (all competitions):LDLLLW

Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:DLWWDL

Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):LLWWDL

Team News

Leicester star Facundo Buonanotte is ineligible for this weekend's clash as he's on loan from Sunday's visitors. This means that Van Nistelrooy will have to shuffle his attacking pack despite netting three times earlier in the week.

With El Khannouss able to play centrally, it looks like Stephy Mavididi and Jordan Ayew will be competing for a spot on the left flank.

Wout Faes is likely to be on the bench for the Foxes once again after being dropped by Van Nistelrooy after a 13-month stretch in the side. Conor Coady and Jannik Vestergaard will form the centre-back pairing.

Harry Winks is still recovering from a hamstring injury, while Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) and Abdul Fatawu (knee) are expected to be back in action in March 2025 and August 2025, respectively.

Brighton are still without Jack Hinshelwood (knee) and Ferdi Kadioglu (muscle), which limits their options on the flanks of their back four.

James Milner (hamstring), Adam Webster (hamstring) and Solly March (knee) are still out, so Hurzeler doesn't have the chance to make big changes to his starting XI.

Goalkeeper Jason Steele might be hoping to get a chance in goal after Verbruggen made a mistake at Craven Cottage. But it looks like the Seagulls will stick with their Dutch shot-stopper.

Possible starting lineup

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Soumare; McAteer, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Lamptey, Igor, Dunk, Estupinan; O'Riley, Baleba; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Pedro