Premier League | Gameweek 21

Jan 15, 2025 at 7.30pm UK

King Power Stadium

Leicester vs Crystal Palace

Match preview

After losing five Premier League games on the bounce, Leicester produced an impressive display in a 6-2 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's side had not won since his first game in charge at the start of December and were on their longest losing streak of the season.

The Foxes have conceded at least two goals in each of those five defeats, and even when they did win at the weekend, they conceded more than once, highlighting their problems.

An unhappy history awaits them if they fail to halt this run, as Leicester have not lost six in a row and conceded at least twice in each since 2001, and they currently have the worst run of clean sheets in Premier League history, with just two in their last 43 games.

It is also imperative that they end their losing streak as Ipswich Town's recent form has seen them leapfrog Leicester and drop Van Nistelrooy's men to 19th in the table.

However, they are just two points adrift of safety, with Wolves, Everton and their next opponents Palace still in the relegation zone.

Playing 24 hours before Ipswich could work in their favour if they can get a result here and put the pressure on the Tractor Boys, who have taken four points from their last two games.

A win could lift them out of the bottom three altogether, but their minus-19 goal difference means 16th-placed Everton are still out of reach this midweek.

Palace are just a few points ahead, and a continuation of their fine home form against the Eagles could see that gap close, with Leicester unbeaten in four home games against their next opponents - winning three of them.

Leicester will also feel they should have won the reverse fixture in September, when they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw, with Jean-Philippe Mateta's injury-time penalty salvaging a point for Palace.

That extended Palace's winless run in this fixture to nine games, but a five-match unbeaten run away from home will give them confidence to improve on that.

Only twice in their top-flight history have the Eagles gone six games without defeat away from home, and both of those were before the creation of the Premier League, highlighting just how impressive it would be if Oliver Glasner's men can get a result.

It will also be important for them not to get dragged back into the relegation battle now that they are five points clear of the relegation zone, and their three remaining games this month will all be crucial.

The trip to Leicester is a great opportunity to pick up three points, while out-of-form West Ham and Brentford are next up for Glassner's men, but the Austrian will be hoping for a more convincing performance than the one that got them past League One Stockport County in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Possible starting lineup

Leicester City Premier League form:DLLLLL

Leicester City form (all competitions):LLLLLW

Crystal Palace Premier League form:DWLDWD

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):LLDWDW

Team News

Leicester will be without first-choice goalkeeper Mads Hermansen for the midweek clash, with Polish stopper Jakub Stolarczyk once again deputising, while Danny Ward is out of favour after his performance against Wolves before Christmas.

Ahead of Stolarczyk, however, Jannik Vestergaard is a doubt after limping off against Aston Villa and subsequently missing Saturday's FA Cup tie against QPR.

However, Kasey McAteer is back in full training and will be in contention after narrowly failing a late fitness test at the weekend, but Wilfred Ndidi, Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu remain out.

Palace's midfield is still without Adam Wharton, who was joined in the treatment room by Will Hughes ahead of their last league game, meaning Cheick Doucoure started alongside Jefferson Lerma.

Illness has swept through the camp over the past week, forcing Dean Henderson to miss Sunday's FA Cup clash, while Maxence Lacroix, Tyrick Mitchell and Mateta were all unused substitutes.

Should they recover, however, all four are expected to return, especially Mateta after another disappointing performance from Eddie Nketiah in attack at the weekend.

Possible starting lineup

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Faes, Kristiansen; Winks, Soumare; Ayew, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze