Leicester v Leeds predictions: Marsch arrival may not spring Leeds in action

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

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Leicester
2pts 4-5 general

Team news

Leicester
Timothy Castagne, Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, James Justin and Ryan Bertrand are sidelined and Ricardo Pereira faces a late fitness test.

Leeds
Patrick Bamford could be on the bench but Diego Llorente is a doubt while Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips are ruled out.

Match preview

New Leeds manager Jesse Marsch has tried to be as upbeat as possible since replacing Marcelo Bielsa in the Elland Road hotseat, but he has inherited a difficult situation and looks set to kick off with a defeat against Leicester at the King Power Stadium.

Positivity seems to come naturally to former RB Leipzig manager Marsch, who has talked about the quality of the Leeds squad.

However, the American could have his work cut out because he has taken over a group of players accustomed to losing games and conceding goals.

The Yorkshire side lost nine of their final 12 games under Bielsa and shipped 20 goals in five February fixtures.

Leeds have slipped to fifth-bottom and hold a two-point advantage over third-bottom Burnley, who have a game in hand.

The situation is crying out for a change of approach but Marsch's high-intensity attacking style of play is not dissimilar to that of the man he replaced.

Leeds are clearly reluctant to tear up the process which has seen them make such impressive progress in recent years and there seems to be an element of long-term thinking about Marsch's appointment.

However, they have just 12 games to get the points needed to secure top flight survival and a continuation of Plan A may not have the desired results.

Opposition teams have worked out how to combat and exploit Leeds's style, and Leicester are likely to fancy their chances as they seek to finish the season strongly.

The Foxes are not going to match the fifth place they achieved in 2019-20 and 2020-21 but they were worthy 2-0 winners at Burnley on Tuesday and will be looking to finish as high as possible.

Returning talisman Jamie Vardy made a huge impact at Turf Moor, coming off the bench in the 72nd minute and providing an assist and a goal.

He will be pushing for more minutes and provides another boost for a Leicester team who have seen the benefits of Harvey Barnes's return from injury.

Barnes and Vardy combined for the second against Burnley and their pace and movement should pose a considerable threat to a Leeds team who have been creating their own problems by playing such a high defensive line.

It may require a change of tactics and the return of key trio Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford to lift Leeds away from a fiercely competitive relegation battle.

Bamford is back and training and could be involved from the bench but Leeds are not going to be anywhere near full strength and the upshot could be a fifth successive Premier League defeat.

Key stat

Leeds have lost five of their last six Premier League matches.

Inside info

Leicester

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

Leeds

Penalty taker Raphinha
Free-kick wizardRaphinha
Set-piece aerial threatDiego Llorente
Card magnetJunior Firpo

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