It’s long been asked when the Leicester bandwagon will come to a halt, but it is clear that the Foxes are here to stay in the title for some time and they can keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City with victory at Aston Villa.
The Foxes are joint top with Arsenal, but they have the unenviable task of travelling to Stoke tomorrow whilst Manchester City play a Crystal Palace side with a strong away record, so this is a crucial chance for them to keep position with the leaders ahead of a second ‘tough’ set of fixtures on the road with trips to City and Arsenal on the horizon.
But for all that four week stretch could easily decide their title prospect, they underlined their resillence and class when winning at White Hart Lane earlier in midweek and look too good to apss up against the worst side in the league. A midweek win against Crystal Palace will have given some confidence to the beglared hosts, but it came thanks only to an awful mistake by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and whilst they looked improved, they were let off by a woeful away performance.
Leicester will hardly be so forgiving. They rode their luck at times with Kasper Schmeichel pulling off a string of fine saves, but they were a menace going forward with Shinji Okazaki shining alongside Leonardo Ulloa in setting up a late Robert Huth goal. Jamie Vardy has suffered groiun troubles recently but Okazaki has provided an aggressive option in the 10 role for Claudio Ranieri and Riyad Mahrez’s capability to stretch defences needs no introduction.
Villa looked more threatening with the changes that Remi Garde made and Libor Kozak should suit much better upfront, but they still look well short in all areas overall with weak links in the shape of Jores Okore and Leandro Bacuna vulnerable defensively.
Villa have lost 66% of their home games, Leicester have won seven of their 11 away, and are 32 points clear of their hosts. 6/5 is generous, as is the 10/3 offered by Paddy Power that they win by two goals.
Advice
3 pts Leicester (6/5 general)
1 pt Leicester -1 (10/3 Paddy Power)
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