Leicester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

King Power Stadium forms the backdrop for an all-Midlands Premier League match-up between relegation contestants Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After starting his tenure at Leicester with consecutive high-scoring unbeaten encounters against West Ham (3-1) and Brighton (2-2), new boss Ruud van Nistelrooy slumped to a 4-0 defeat at Newcastle United last time out. Stuck only two points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich Town pre-round, the Foxes are desperate for only their third Premier League victory at the King Power this season (W2, D3, L3). Wolverhampton’s visit bodes well as Leicester have won their last three top-flight H2Hs on this ground via a single-goal margin. Those victories form part of their seven-game unbeaten home run against Wolves in all competitions (W5, D2). With five of those seven meetings featuring under 2.5 goals, a low-scoring contest looks like a distinct possibility in the latest edition of the iconic Midlands derby. 

In the meantime, Wolverhampton relieved Gary O’Neil of his duties immediately after a 2-1 home defeat to newcomers Ipswich last weekend, appointing Vitor Pereira as his successor. Pereira’s first task is to halt the Wanderers’ woeful four-game losing league streak. Shoring up Wolves’ defensive leaks would be a significant initial step, considering they conceded 2+ goals in all four defeats, with no Premier League team capitulating more times than them (40) this term. Achieving that feat on the road could prove rather tricky, with the visitors only winning once on their eight Premier League travels thus far (D2, L5). Moreover, they conceded an alarming average of 2.75 goals per away league game!