Southampton travel to the East Midlands this weekend to face Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City side. The Foxes come off the back of a comfortable defeat against Arsenal on Saturday, whereas Ralph Hasenhüttl's men come into this one after a morale boosting comeback against Leeds United after being two-goals down.
Both sides have had an underwhelming start to this season with both teams only picking up a point in the opening two games. Gabriel Jesus had Leicester’s defence on strings last time out, netting two goals and setting up two. As for Southampton they were comprehensively beaten by Antonio Conte's Tottenham side, after an early James Ward-Prowse strike gave the Saints a glimmer of hope on the opening day of the season, drawing 2-2 against Leeds United last weekend.
This weekend’s fixture gives both Leicester and Southampton a good opportunity of recording their first three points of the season.
The Foxes will be keen to get all three points here ahead of a difficult run of fixtures. After Southampton, Leicester travel down to London to face Chelsea, before hosting a struggling Manchester United side the following Thursday.
Southampton are in exactly the same boat as Leicester. Southampton face Man United and Chelsea in their next two fixtures. So, both sides will be desperate to get some points on the board.
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Team news
Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers has been boosted by the return of Harvey Barnes. The winger had been side-lined after a pre-season knee injury but is fit and available for selection. This allows Rodgers to shift back to a 4-3-3, after starting the season with three at-the-back.
However, according to The Athletic, Brendan Rodgers will be without star centre-back Wesley Fofana. The 21-year-old has asked Rodgers to leave him out of the matchday squad this weekend, something Rodgers admitted he was ‘not afraid to do’ in his pre-match press conference this week. This gives Rodgers a headache in his team selection as to who to pair Jonny Evans with. The obvious option would be Çağlar Söyüncü, but Rodgers seems to favour Ghanaian international Daniel Amartey. The other option is Jannik Vestergaard who has had an underwhelming Leicester career so far.
Rodgers confirms no fresh injury concerns with Ricardo Pereira and Ryan Bertrand the only unavailable players.
Southampton
Southampton’s options have been bolstered in defence with Lyanco returning to training after missing the clash with Leeds.
Hasenhüttl also expects to have Ché Adams fit and available for the trip to Leicester this weekend with rumours still circulating about his future at the club.
The Saints will still be without Romain Perraud and wonderkid Tino Livramento after a long-term injury.
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Key Players
James Maddison (Leicester City)
Maddison is so important to the way this Leicester City side play. The midfielder is key to unlocking the opposition defence. His chance creation is one of the best in the league and if him and Jamie Vardy ignite their connection this season, they will be dangerous. Maddison will be boosted by the return of Barnes as they link up well.
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
The Englishman is a similar player to Maddison, so it will be interesting to see how the midfield battle plays out. Ward-Prowse does not enjoy playing against any other side more that Leicester, with four goals coming against the Foxes.
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Predicted lineups
Leicester City
Danny Ward, Timothy Castagne, Jonny Evans, Daniel Amartey, James Justin, Wilfried Ndidi, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, James Maddison, Ayoze Pérez, Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes.
Southampton
Gavin Bazunu, Kyle Walker-Peters, Mohammed Salisu, Jan Bednarek, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Moussa Djenepo, James Ward-Prowse, Roméo Lavia, Joe Aribo, Adam Armstrong, Ché Adams.
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Match Details
Where is the match being played?
The match will be played at the King Power Stadium in Leicester.
What time is the match?
Leicester City vs Southampton will kick off at 15:00 BST on Saturday 20th August 2022.
How can you watch the match?
In the UK there is no television broadcast available, but highlights will be made available after the match on Sky Sports' YouTube channel and the BBC.