Leicester City will travel to Southampton on Friday night knowing that a win would see them move above Manchester City into second spot in the Premier League table.

The Foxes have collected 17 points from their nine league games this season to sit third in the division, and Brendan Rodgers's side will fancy their chances of overcoming 17th-placed Southampton at St Mary's.

Match preview

Two wins, two draws and five defeats - that is how Southampton have performed in the Premier League this season. A total of eight points has left them in 17th spot in the table, only clear of the relegation zone on goal difference, meaning that a defeat on Friday night would put them in danger of dropping into the bottom three.

Southampton's two Premier League wins this season have actually come on their travels, overcoming Brighton & Hove Albion on August 24, in addition to recording a 1-0 win at Sheffield United in the middle of last month.

It has been a different story in front of their own supporters, though, with Liverpool, Bournemouth and Chelsea all leaving with a win. Ralph Hasenhuttl's side did manage to hold Manchester United at the end of August, though, and picked up a decent point away to Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

The importance of Friday's match is highlighted by the fact that the Saints will face Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal in their three after this one. The fans would certainly be concerned if their team were inside the relegation zone around the festive period due to the volume of matches.

Southampton actually beat Leicester when the two teams last locked horns at the King Power Stadium in January, but the Foxes emerged victorious in the corresponding match at St Mary's last season.

There is a feeling that Leicester could seriously challenge for a top-four spot this season, and a win on Friday night would see them - temporarily at least - move into second spot in the table.

Five wins and two draws have given Rodgers's side 17 points; they are way behind the current top two in terms of goals scored but have only conceded eight times in their nine league matches, which represents one of the best defensive records in the league at this stage.

Leicester's two league defeats this season have come against Manchester United and Liverpool since the middle of last month, but they have won three of their last four in the league, including home successes over Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, before beating Burnley 2-1 at the weekend.

Jamie Vardy has been in fine form the Foxes this season with six goals in nine league outings, while the likes of Youri Tielemans and James Maddison have also been impressive. There are certainly deeper squads among those challenging for the top four, but Leicester have no European distractions this season.

The 2015-16 title winners have only won one of their four league fixtures on the road this term; three of those were against Chelsea, United and Liverpool, though, and they do have a winnable run of away games ahead.

Southampton form: DWLLLD

Leicester City form: WLWWLW

Team News

Southampton have no fresh injury concerns from their draw with Wolves last weekend, although Cedric Soares and Moussa Djenepo are still on the sidelines, with neither expected back until November.

It would not be a surprise to see exactly the same XI sent onto the field for this game, meaning that the likes of Shane Long, Che Adams and Sofiane Boufal would start on the bench once again.

James Ward-Prowse is perhaps the player at most risk when it comes to the Wolves clash, but Danny Ings found the back of the net at Molineux and should continue at the tip of the attack.

As for Leicester, Maddison aggravated a foot injury during the win over Burnley last weekend, but the playmaker is expected to overcome the issue to start on Friday night.

Matty James remains a long-term absentee, but Rodgers otherwise has a fully-fit squad, meaning that there are not expected to be many surprises when it comes to team selection.

Demarai Gray and Dennis Praet are among those pushing for starts, but Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez should both keep their spots in the XI, with leading scorer Vardy at the tip of the attack.

Southampton possible starting lineup: Gunn; Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard; Valery, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Redmond; Ings

Leicester City possible starting lineup: Schmeichel; Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Ndidi; Perez, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy

We say: Southampton 1-2 Leicester City

Leicester deserve to be considered as top-four challengers this season, and we fancy the Foxes to continue their impressive run of form with a narrow win at St Mary's.