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Going back to September 1920 there have been 129 competitive matches between Leicester City and Leeds United, resulting in 46 wins for the Foxes, 35 draws and a narrowly superior 48 victories for Leeds.
The fixture delivers the biggest game of the Championship season so far on Friday evening. Leicester and Leeds probably have a fair right to say that they shouldn’t be playing at this level in terms of the size of the clubs, thankfully, that is not how the Football League system works, and both will be desperate to win this match to take one step closer to an immediate return to the Premier League.
Obviously, the most recent matches between these two did take place in the top division last year. There have been huge changes across both clubs, new managers, and new players, but there could still be some big clues in their previous clashes that can point us towards winning player prop bets for the forthcoming encounter.
Both Enzo Maresca and Daniel Farke have pretty much won over their respective fanbases since their appointments in the summer. Obviously, results have had a big hand in that but both men have also bought into their new clubs and understood the role that they have to play. It also helps when you pluck a ball out of the sky with flawless control in dress shoes like Daniel Farke did on the sidelines a few weeks ago!
2️⃣ The Last Two: Leicester v Leeds
Leeds 1-1 Leicester, 25th April 2023: Yellow cards fly as three of four starting central midfielders cautioned
So, despite the changes that have occurred, enough similarities remain in the DNA of Leicester City and Leeds United that looking back at their last two fixtures against each other still offers value.
What clues will we find for some interesting player prop angles?
The stakes for this match were exceptionally high. Both teams were in relegation trouble, just outside of the relegation zone in 16th and 17th, by one point and goal difference respectively. Therefore, the winner of this match would give themselves a nice buffer between them and the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest.
By this stage of the season, both clubs had changed managers to try and help them escape the drop. Leeds were in the final days of Javi Gracia’s tenure, just before the Sam Allardyce gamble, and Leicester had appointed Dean Smith after the departure of Brendan Rodgers.
Despite the tension of the occasion, there was actually a fair degree of excitement to the game itself. Leicester had a fabulous Youri Tielemans goal disallowed for offside after seven minutes, Luis Sinisterra scored a great header from a Jack Harrison assist, and then chances flowed for either side. Jamie Vardy equalised with ten minutes to go from a nice build-up involving Kelechi Iheanacho and James Maddison.
The teams produced 3.87 xG between them, with 2.61 xG from open play. Harvey Barnes led the way in terms of shots taken, with four, though none were on target. Another nine players took two shots each, further demonstrating the game’s openness.
James Maddison had a massive impact on the game. The England international produced the highest xG in the match and also the highest xA (expected assists) of any player, he created four chances, two of which were deemed big chances, and one of them was the equalising goal.
In the absence of Maddison for the forthcoming fixture, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is likely to be the man who is able to knit the play together through midfield into attack. It could be worth looking into the creative markets or combined markets, to score and assist for example, for the Leicester midfielder.
Other standout features of this match were fouls and bookings. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a lot at stake, so the referee was kept busy. Leeds had two cautions before half time and ended up with two of their back four in the book, as well as central midfielder Marc Roca and withdrawn forward Rodrigo. Leicester fought hard in midfield and had both central midfielders booked, Boubakary Soumare and Youri Tielemans on the day.
Though the situation heading into Friday’s game is very different with both clubs fighting for promotion, rather than staving off relegation, there could be a similar sense of tension on the pitch. It could be worth looking into the booking markets in anticipation of a potential midfield battle between the likes of Harry Winks, Wilfried Ndidi, Ethan Ampadu and Glen Kamara.
Leicester 2-0 Leeds, 20th October 2022: Leeds attackers share the shots around
The pressure was on Brendan Rodgers and Leicester as they welcomed Leeds United to the King Power, marooned at the bottom of the league with only five points from ten games. The Foxes had conceded far too many goals, 24 at that point, more than anyone else in the league and in fairness, despite this result, the defensive openness was apparent in this one too.
Leeds fell behind early to a Robin Koch own goal, and when the lead was doubled thanks to a strike from Harvey Barnes, assisted by Dewsbury-Hall, the Foxes sat back and allowed the Whites to come on to them.
There were 14 Leeds shots to five from Leicester, it was perhaps an indication of what was to come for both sides that only three of those shots were on target.
The interesting thing from a Leeds, and betting, perspective, was that all of the starting front four for Leeds, including the likes of Crysensio Summerville and Patrick Bamford, took two shots each in the match. The attack was spread around, but there was no real concentrated method to hurt Leicester.
Amazingly, Boubakary Soumare and Youri Tielemans were both booked in this match as well. There really must have been a concerted effort from Leicester to be combative, or at least competitive, in the centre of midfield in these fixtures.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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