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Leicester logo
Championship | Gameweek 17
Nov 25, 2023 at 3pm UK
King Power Stadium
Watford logo
Leicester
vs.
Watford

Preview: Leicester City vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Leicester City and Watford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Leicester City head into their Championship fixture with Watford on Saturday afternoon looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats.

At a time when the Foxes still sit at the top of the standings, Watford are 13th after finding some form ahead of the November international break.


Match preview

Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca on October 28, 2023© Reuters

With 13 wins from 14 league games, the assumption was that Leicester would canter to promotion back to the Premier League with minimal fuss.

However, 1-0 defeats to Leeds United and Middlesbrough has put a different spin on matters, the Foxes having been caught up by second-placed Ipswich Town.

Although they still possess an eight-point advantage over third, Enzo Maresca's side have lost all momentum and arguably required the international break to regroup.

Even before their double setback, Leicester had only defeated Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers by one-goal margins, and there is a perception that the East Midlands outfit may require a backup plan.

While they have won six out of eight games at the King Power Stadium, just 11 goals have been scored in the process, an area of their game that must improve on familiar territory.

From the perspective of Watford, substantial time has passed since they lasted showed the kind of consistency that they have recently under Valerien Ismael.

A six-game undefeated streak has been put together where they have accumulated 12 points, the latest success being the 5-0 thrashing of Rotherham United.

Despite being five points adrift of the playoffs, Watford fans are relishing rare continuity and optimism that they are building something under a head coach who does not feel under the same scrutiny as his predecessors.

Nevertheless, that is not to say that Watford do not need to remain on an upward trajectory, Ismael aware that they ideally need to establish a top-half place as soon as possible.

Leicester City Championship form:

Watford Championship form:

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Team News

Watford manager Valerien Ismael applauds fans after the match on August 19, 2023© Reuters

Maresca will almost certainly tinker with his Leicester starting lineup, potentially recalling Jamie Vardy down the middle of the attack.

Abdul Fatawu is also a possible option down the right-hand side, allowing Ricardo Pereira to return to full-back.

The likes of Wilfried Ndidi, Dennis Praet and Yunus Akgun are all expected to remain on the sidelines.

Barring any fitness issues, Ismael may see no reason to make any alterations to his Watford XI for this contest.

Although Rhys Healey and Matheus Martins combined to set up the fifth goal against Rotherham, they will likely remain among the replacements, while Ismael Kone will be assessed after playing 73 minutes for Canada on Tuesday night.


Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Choudhury, Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Fatawu, Vardy, Mavididi

Watford possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Andrews, Porteous, Hoedt, Lewis; Livermore, Kayembe, Kone; Asprilla, Rajovic, Sema


SM words green background

We say: Leicester City 2-1 Watford

With a bit of doubt creeping in at Leicester, Ismael and Watford will sense an opportunity. However, we feel that the home side can only have benefitted from the November international break, leading us to predict a hard-fought triumph for the Foxes.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester16130329101939
2Ipswich TownIpswich16123136211539
3Leeds UnitedLeeds1694327161131
4Southampton169342726130
5Preston North EndPreston168442324-128
6Sunderland1682627171026
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom167542617926
8Hull City167542219326
9Cardiff CityCardiff167362519624
10Middlesbrough167362323024
11Bristol City166461616022
12Blackburn RoversBlackburn167182426-222
13Watford165652318521
14Stoke CityStoke166371618-221
15Millwall165561919020
16Norwich CityNorwich166282932-320
17Swansea CitySwansea165472221119
18Birmingham CityBirmingham165471922-319
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164482727016
20Coventry CityCoventry163761921-216
21Huddersfield TownHuddersfield163671428-1415
22Rotherham UnitedRotherham162591532-1711
23Queens Park RangersQPR1624101127-1610
24Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds161312727-206

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