Premier League: Arsenal Vs Leicester City – Match preview

The Gunners have lost just one home league game since the opening round, curiously the home side on the day hasn’t won any of the last five H2Hs.

Arsenal

Arsenal’s second run of four consecutive Premier League victories this term has strengthened their UEFA Champions League qualification chances, which will further improve if they can make the most of upcoming games in hand over their competitors. First though, they must focus on their 148th meeting with Leicester City since the first H2H back in 1895. Although the ‘Gunners’ have lost just one home league game since the opening round, curiously the home side on the day hasn’t won any of the last five H2Hs. Leicester’s away H2H win last term was remarkably their first since September 1973, though it’ll be tough to repeat that against an Arsenal side that’s opened the scoring in ten of their last 12 league fixtures at the Emirates.

Leicester City

This season, Leicester have been underwhelmed in all departments and have never threatened to join the top-four battle. Weaknesses against set-pieces, in particular, have been exposed time and again but as key players have returned from injury, the ‘Foxes’ have built some momentum, following up their first back-to-back league clean sheets since February 2021 with another one in midweek. But with their driving force Jamie Vardy out injured again, they can only hope his latest absence won’t correspond with another downturn in form. Beating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor (Mar 1) snapped a run of four consecutive Premier League away defeats and will offer Leicester renewed hope that they can at least finish the season battling for European qualification.

Like Arsenal, they have games in hand – two of which are away – although they risk a late-season fixture pile-up with the club also still featuring in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Bukayo Saka has scored Arsenal’s second goal of the game in two of their last three fixtures, whilst Leicester’s Harvey Barnes has scored the opener in two of their last four matches. Arsenal have kept a first-half clean sheet in 11 (85 per cent) home Premier League matches this term.