Leicester v Arsenal predictions: Expect Foxes to edge a high-scoring clash

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Leicester v Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Leicester to win & over 1.5 goals
1pt 2-1 Hills

Team news

Leicester
James Justin, Wesley Fofana and Wilfred Ndidi are out.

Arsenal
Ben White, Kieran Tierney and Martin Odegaard are all major doubts. Granit Xhaka is out.

Match preview

Leicester's ability to score but inability to defend will be driving Brendan Rodgers to distraction but for punters it means we should expect goals at the King Power.

In ten of the Foxes' last 13 matches both teams have scored. In each of those there have been over 2.5 goals. Both eventualities are unsurprisingly odds-on shots.

What will definitely be pleasing Rodgers, however, is the form Leicester are showing now and punters should also expect that they can make it three league wins in a row by overpowering the Gunners.

It's true, Arsenal are also in decent form, currently on an eight-match unbeaten streak featuring six wins. Of those six, however, four were against teams in the Premier League's bottom eight and another was against Wimbledon.

Mikel Arteta has had long enough to get it right at the Emirates and there will doubtless be some who feel he's almost there, that finally he's gathered together a bunch of pros who can play as a group.

The counter view is that Arsenal are never very far away from a crisis and that it's their form against the better sides which will determine how much progress they are really making. And Leicester, fifth in each of the last two seasons and heading that way again, are very definitely a better side.

The other thing worth mentioning - although everyone will have a view on the validity of it - is Arteta's revelation that a bug has swept the camp this week. It might just be a classic case of getting the excuses in early, but it was noticeable that a handful of kids were drafted into the first-team training set-up on Friday.

One thing that is beyond debate is that both Leicester and Arsenal are in the top eight for chances coughed up, the Foxes conceding 15.7 per game, the Gunners 14.8. Leicester have let in 15 goals which is the joint -worst record in the top 12.

They have not kept a clean sheet since the opening day 1-0 win over Wolves which probably explains why Rodgers has jettisoned the chronically overrated Yannick Vestergaard and gone three - or five - at the back.

Leicester's own firepower is getting them out of holes. Jamie Vardy is on the seven-goal mark and keen to add to his fantastic record of 11 goals in 13 showdowns with Arsenal. He's 5-1 to net first.

Arsenal are ,like Leicester, improving nicely but have scored only one goal in four Premier League awaydays so far.

Key stat

Arsenal have scored one goal in four top-flight away games this season.

Inside info

Leicester

Penalty taker Jamie Vardy
Free-kick wizard James Maddison
Set-piece aerial threat Caglar Soyuncu/Jannik Vestergaard
Card magnet Caglar Soyuncu

Arsenal

Penalty taker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Free-kick wizard Nicolas Pepe/Alexandre Lacazette
Set-piece aerial threat Gabriel
Card magnet Albert Sambi Lokonga

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