Tag: leicester city

Another Defeat For The Foxes

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

LEICESTER suffered another set back at the weekend with their FA Cup exit at League One Millwall and it’s going to get a lot worse on Wednesday night when the Champions of England make the tough trip to the south of Spain to face Sevilla.

The Foxes are having a complete nightmare of a season and Saturday’s FA Cup loss was the low light of what has truly been a staggering collapse from Claudio Ranieri’s side.

Many expected a decline at the King Power, but nobody would’ve predicted that they would be in a relegation battle and without a single win away all season.

This is as tough as it gets in Europe for Leicester and there is no way in the world that can seriously be considered for betting even at the general price 10.00.

Although Leicester has been at their best in the Champions League they arrive at the last 16 stage in the worst form of the season without a win in their last eight matches, with three straight away defeats and no goals scored in those matches.

Sevilla has been the Europa Cup kings in the last couple of seasons and Jorge Sampaoli’s side look absolute good things to win this and odds of 1.40 although very short, will see you collecting.

Los Rojiblancos are a force to be reckoned with at their intimidating Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan home and they’ve been in great form this season sitting in third place in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona after an impressive seven-match unbeaten run at home.

GOALS LOOK ON THE CARDS

In those seven matches Sevilla have scored a staggering 22 goals and they are expected to add to that tally with a few again against a Leicester side that is conceding goals for fun and I am going to be taking Sevilla on the Asian handicap lines as well -1.5 goals which is 2.05 with BetVictor.

I can’t see Leicester adding to the goals though in this one as main goalscoring duo Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have gone missing for much of the season, and with clean sheets in their last two home games, I am taking Sevilla to win to nil again at 2.25 with Paddy Power.

For correct-score punters this really could be all over before the return leg in a fortnight’s time and at 10.00 again with Paddy Power you can do a lot worse than back the Spanish giants to win 3-0.

 

Swansea v Leicester: Basement Battle of the Two Cities

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It is widely lauded by all and sundry as being the greatest league in the world. But while at the top end of the table Chelsea Football Club looks to be cantering towards a sixth title, it is at the foot of the Premier League table where all the real drama and excitement seems to be currently being generated.

And at 1600 hours GMT on Sunday afternoon, the drama doesn’t get much more tense as reigning Premier League champions Leicester City travel to South Wales to face fellow relegation-threatened Swansea City in a hugely significant match for both teams. It promises to be a real nail-biter for both sets of supporters with the clubs equal on 21 points and sitting uncomfortably just a single point clear of the dreaded drop zone.

Swans searching for home comforts

New Swansea boss Paul Clement, who has spent much of his coaching career to date looking down on the rest of the league table as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant at Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, has taken to management at the wrong end of the table like a duck to water.

Three wins from four league matches in January including a thrilling first ever away victory over Liverpool at Anfield has breathed new life into a Swansea team who had looked doomed to relegation under Clement’s predecessors Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley. And the Swans were desperately unlucky not to emerge from last Sunday’s visit to Manchester City with a potentially precious point, Gabriel Jesus’ injury time winner cruelly denying them at the last.

Before Clement’s arrival, Swansea’s home form had made for uneasy reading with just eight points taken at the Liberty Stadium, a poor return given their record of just five home defeats the previous season. The in-form club is now 6/4 with Coral for the drop while Sunday’s opponents Leicester are slightly longer odds at 2/1 with William Hill to complete a rapid fall from grace and finish in the bottom three just 12 months after topping the pile so thrillingly.

Foxes in desperate need of first away win

The last time Leicester won a Premier League match away from home, against Sunderland last April, the club was motoring towards a first ever top division title win. Now just 10 months on, the deposed champions have yet to register a league win on their travels all season, after boasting a record of just two losses on the road in 2015-16.

To say it has been a disappointing defence of their trophy would be bordering on the understatement of the millennium. And despite Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri getting the dreaded vote of confidence earlier this week, he remains the favourite ahead of Middlesbrough’s Aitor Karanka to be the next top-flight manager to lose his job, registering as short as 6/4 with BetVictor.

On current form, Swansea should go into his match as overwhelming favourites for victory given their recent promising results and Leicester’s continuing awful form. Yet, Bet365 are still offering tasty odds of 6/4 for a home win while Leicester is 21/10 with BetVictor to finally register a first away win of the campaign.

And talking of decent odds, how about this for a potential money maker? With Leicester having lost four matches in succession on the road with no goals scored and 10 conceded, serious consideration should be given to having a small flutter on Swansea keeping a clean sheet on Sunday, with odds of 9/4 on offer from Bet365.

With some difficult matches lying in wait for both clubs, a defeat for either would significantly deepen relegation worries. It promises to be a close but nervy encounter.

Leicester v Man Utd: Foxes embroiled in relegation dog fight

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Leicester City welcome Manchester United to the King Power Stadium live on television on Sunday afternoon, desperate to get back to winning ways as they face up to the very real prospect of relegation.

Less than a year after their miraculous title win and despite taking the Champions League by storm and qualifying for the last 16, the Foxes’ defence of their Premier League crown has been nothing short of woeful. The club now sits just two points above the relegation zone and are currently as short as 7/2 with Bet365 to be relegated with 15 matches left to play.

Must win game for Foxes

On Tuesday evening, Leicester travelled to fellow relegation candidates Burnley and with a valuable point just moments away, Sam Vokes’ last minute strike, aided by his hand, snatched it away to suck the Foxes further into the mire.

Claudio Ranieri’s men have picked up just 21 points from 23 games this season with their away form a huge cause for concern to their manager and fans, with no wins on the road to date. Their home form has been nothing to write home about either with just five wins from 11 games. Sunday afternoon offers them another opportunity to improve that ratio whilst also improving their prospects of retaining their Premier League status.

United toiling in pursuit of top four finish

While Leicester battle the drop, United haven’t lost a single Premier League match since Chelsea thrashed them 4-0 at Stamford Bridge back in late October. Such a record usually indicates a club challenging for the title. But for Jose Mourinho and his players, the undefeated run has consisted of far too many draws, seven to be exact.

Now a daunting 14 points behind champions-elect Chelsea and four points outside of the Champions League places, United drew another blank on Wednesday evening when they failed to break down a stubborn Hull outfit with an inspired goalkeeper the difference between the two teams. United are now a massive 50/1 with Sky Bet to defy the odds and claim an unexpected 21st league title.

Failure to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition would represent a huge failure for Mourinho given the vast sums of money spent in the summer. Ladbrokes are more confident of United’s chances of a top four finish than their title hopes, though, quoting them as low as 11/8.

United favourites to extend Foxes’ woes

United go into this clash rightly proclaimed as favourites for victory, 8/11 with Paddy Power while Leicester, desperate for a reversal in fortunes are a somewhat tempting 9/2 with Bet365 to overcome the newly-announced wealthiest club in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

Not feeling a win on either side? You can get a decent 14/5 with BetVictor for United to once again draw a blank and Leicester to gain another point in their fight to avoid being only the second English club after Manchester City in the thirties to be relegated just a year after reaching their highest peak.

Fancy a flutter on first goalscorer? Jamie Vardy has failed to hit the heights of last season but is a cracking 17/2 with Paddy Power to strike first on Sunday, while United’s man of the season to date, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is deemed more likely at 17/5 to notch that all-important first goal.

Chelsea To Edge A Thriller Against The Champions

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

PREMIER League leaders Chelsea travel to the champions Leicester this weekend, and the bookies are taking no chances on Antonio Conte’s side.

The Londoners are as short as 1.57 to win, which will be their eleventh win in the last 12, but even though they should get the three points, that is far too short a price for me to get involved with.

Leicester have made a very poor defence of their Premier League title this season and manager Claudio Ranieri has a big relegation battle on his hands, but the Italian will have his side well up for the visit of his former team, and this might be a lot closer than many are expecting.

At the weekend The Foxes celebrated a 2-1 FA Cup third round win at Everton and at home they’ve now just lost once in the last six matches boasting an impressive 4-2 win over Man City in that period; odds of 6.0 on the home side looks a spot of value.

Goals expected if history has its way

These two sides have already played twice this season and both previous meetings featured goals and over 2.5 goals in the match at 1.83 with William Hills and both team to score as a “yes” which is 1.91 with the same firm look the best bets in the match.

With goals looking highly likely for both sides and Chelsea already boasting two wins against their rivals this season, they should win the match and the best way to get with the Premier League title favourites is to get with them on some attractive correct-score plays.

Crucial match for Chelsea

It’s a must win for Chelsea with main title rivals Manchester United and Liverpool facing each other this weekend and I can see them edging a decent watch 3-1 which is a very tasty looking 15.0 with Bet365.

England striker Jamie Vardy is back in the Leicester side after missing out recently through suspension and he’s a general 9.00 to open the goalscoring against the Blues’.

It hasn’t been a great season for Vardy but it has been for Chelsea’s top goalscorer Diego Costa who is the top Premier League goalscorer at the moment with 14 goals and I really like the 4.00 on the Spaniard to open the goal scoring and the 1.91 on him to score at any time in the match.

Will Leicester City Make History Again?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Leicester City overcame pre-season odds of 5000-1 to win the Premier League last season. This is surely a feat that will never be repeated in our lifetime. They made history several times with regards to the records that they set but they are in danger of doing so again.

Only one team in the history of the English top flight have been relegated the season after being champions. The Foxes are in danger of repeating that. They only have 17pts from 17 games and that point per game ratio if continued will leave them fighting relegation come the end of the season.

The Big Problems

They host Everton in what is a crucial game for the Foxes. While it isn’t a “must-win” game by any means, defeat would be a big blow for Leicester. So just what has gone wrong? It’s an accumulation of problems. The main one has been their level of intensity. This has dropped alarmingly since last season and the stats back that up. There is a reason why top players and top teams keep on performing season after season. The big advantage that they have is in their mentality.

The top players are “top players” because they produce top performances season after season. If the Leicester players were in that category then they would surely have been snapped up by other clubs before they joined Leicester City. So a big problem has been in being able to rise to the same heights again and to retain the motivation levels. Clearly, Leicester has struggled in this area. Secondly, they lost N’Golo Kante to Chelsea.

Losing the Midfield Dynamo

Allowing Chelsea to snatch N’Golo Kante has proved to be a big loss for Leicester. So much of their play went through him and he was certainly pivotal in most of their attacking play. The new rules on holding and grappling in the penalty area have also handicapped Leicester City. Players like Wes Morgan and Robert Huth were masters of the “dark arts” of defending.

Leicester will continue to struggle this season because they have simply lost their intensity. They host Everton who will be eager to bounce back from their stoppage time home derby defeat to Liverpool. Despite all of Leicester’s problems, they can be backed at an outstanding 9-4 with Coral. That is surely too high and represents great value. Leicester swept aside Manchester City recently which is another indication that 9-4 is a good bet.

The draw can be backed at 12-5 with Ladbrokes while Everton seems poor value at 2-1 with BetVictor. The demands of playing Champions League football have also taken their toll on Leicester. In the Premier League, opponents have become very familiar with Leicester’s style and this is another factor as to why they have struggled this season.

Can Leicester City Finally Start to Play Like Champions?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The 2015-16 Premier League season will go down in history as being the season that the “impossible” happened. People across the globe were speaking about Leicester City and how they overcame odds of 5000-1 to win one of the toughest leagues in world football. Most football pundits didn’t expect Leicester to repeat that feat, but they also didn’t expect them to be languishing near the bottom approaching Christmas.

Their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth in midweek was their eighth loss in the league this season. That comes after just sixteen matches. Leicester only lost three games in thirty-eight matches last season. They currently have 16pts from 16 games and that is going to leave them fighting relegation should their current points per game ratio continue.

The Distraction of the Champions League

Clearly, the Champions League has been a huge distraction for the Foxes. They managed to qualify easily from a relatively simple group. They don’t have to worry about that competition again until February. The problem is that they simply cannot seem to put a run of decent results together. They beat Manchester City 4-2 at the weekend and looked like the Leicester City of last season.

Their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth was a poor follow on from that, and once again leaves their fans fearing the worst. Leicester travels to face Stoke City on Saturday. They couldn’t have picked a worst time to play Stoke because Mark Hughes has really got his Stoke team firing again. Stoke started the season poorly but have had a run of good results in recent weeks.

The Britannia is a Fortress Again

Stoke City didn’t win a match in the Premier League this season until almost the end of October. That worrying run even had some of their loyal fans fearing the worst. Stoke City has become a very resilient team under Mark Hughes, and once again they have weathered the storm. They will provide a very formidable opponent for Leicester and especially at the Britannia Stadium.

William Hill quotes Stoke as 7-5 favourites for this match which is fair. You can get 2-1 with Stan James for the draw, while a Leicester City win is 5-2 with William Hill. It is tough to find any value with those odds. Some of the alternative odds markets may provide some interest. Bet365, for example, quote odds of 9-4 that Stoke will keep a clean sheet.

Will Leicester Find the Net?

Leicester failed to trouble the Bournemouth keeper in midweek and may do so again at Stoke. Betway quote 13-10 on the winning margin being only one goal. That particular market may be of interest to some punters. It is amazing to think that we could see the champions relegated this season.

That has only happened once before in history. Leicester should slowly start to pick up points but don’t bet too much on that happening this weekend at Stoke. Even the 2-1 odds on the draw doesn’t seem a bad bet considering that Leicester hasn’t won away from home in the league all season.