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Premier League
Aug 27, 2016 at 3pm UK
 
SL

2-1

Vardy (31'), Morgan (50')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Fer (80')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Swansea City

:Headline: Preview: Leicester City vs. Swansea City: ID:279829: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League match between Leicester City and Swansea City at the King Power Stadium.

Reigning Premier League champions Leicester City will make a third attempt at claiming their first win of the season when they welcome Swansea City to the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Foxes have picked up one point from their opening two fixtures, while their Welsh opponents are two points ahead after recording a win and a defeat so far in their league campaign.


Leicester City

Claudio Ranieri's men have not got their title defence off to the best start as they are still searching for a victory after two outings in the top flight.

The Foxes stunned the world of football by winning their first league title in the club's 132-year history last season, but with that comes expectation.

Not only do they have an English crown to defend, they will be competing in the Champions League for the first time, but Ranieri has reiterated that the club's targets remain within the top 10.

With the exception of N'Golo Kante, who joined Chelsea earlier this summer, Leicester have been able to bat away suitors for influential figures, including Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Danny Drinkwater - all three have signed new long-term deals at the club.

Last season, the pair scored 41 Premier League goals between them, and Mahrez got off the mark in the opening weekend of the current campaign by slotting from the penalty spot in the 47th minute of Leicester's 2-1 defeat to Hull City.

The loss to the promoted side may have been a shock to the system for Ranieri and his men as they were on the losing side just three times in the league during the 2015-16 season.

The Foxes put in a good shift against Arsenal the following weekend as they restricted the Gunners to a goalless draw at the King Power, but they failed to find that clinical finish in front of goal.

They remain on home soil this weekend, and will look to extend their unbeaten record in the stadium to 17 matches. Also, Vardy has struck first in five of the last 14 games that he has played there.

Recent form: LD


Swansea City

Francesco Guidolin's aim when he was brought into Swansea in January last season was to make sure that the club did not fall into the Championship following Garry Monk's exit.

The Italian managed to get the job done, but following the departures of club captain Ashley Williams and attacker Andre Ayew, there have been concerns that the Swans are destined for a relegation battle.

The club have brought in Leroy Fer, Mike van der Hoorn, Mark Birighitti, Fernando Llorente and Atletico Madrid striker Borja Baston, who joined earlier this month for a club-record fee of £15.5m.

The Welsh outfit are certainly not being stingy when it comes to spending, and they were rewarded for their efforts on the pitch by beginning the season with a 1-0 win over promoted side Burnley.

Sealing the away win at Turf Moor would have given the club a boost in confidence, but it came late on as Fer scored the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute.

The Swans were unable to carry that momentum into the next fixture, though, as they were beaten 2-0 by another promoted side Hull City at the Liberty Stadium.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Swansea because despite dominating possession and producing 23 shots on goal, only three were on target, while Hull scored twice from their three.

There have been fewer than 2.5 goals scored by Swansea in their last three league matches, proving that goals have been hard to come by for Guidolin's men.

The side head to the King Power Stadium having recorded 19 defeats in their last 29 matches on the road against top-half teams, but they will be boosted by their 3-1 win over Peterborough United in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

Recent form: WL
Recent form (all competitions): WLW


Team News

Ranieri has confirmed that Nampalys Mendy and Jeffrey Schlupp will both miss out this weekend due to respective injuries, but is hopeful that the pair will be available after the international break.

Mendy, who signed for the Foxes from Nice last month for a £13m fee, was forced off in the second half of last Saturday's stalemate with Arsenal after landing awkwardly.

Aside from the two omissions, the Foxes have a healthy squad to choose from, which likely means that Vardy, Mahrez and Drinkwater will all be given nods to start.

Shinji Okazaki partnered Vardy up front against Arsenal, but Ahmed Musa might return to the first XI when Swansea come to town.

As for the visiting side, Guidolin has confirmed that Oliver McBurnie will be in the matchday squad after he scored twice against Peterborough in midweek.

There will also be a place for Leon Britton, who missed out against Hull last weekend, but Borja will not be included due to a thigh injury, while Neil Taylor has requested to play with the Under-23s in order to build up his match fitness.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs; Mahrez, Drinkwater, King, Albrighton; Musa, Vardy

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Amat, Kingsley; Cork, Fer; Barrow, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Llorente


Head To Head

Swansea conceded seven goals in their league matches against Leicester last season, suffering a 3-0 defeat on home soil and a 4-0 loss at the King Power Stadium.

Mahrez scored a hat-trick in the clash in Wales and he contributed to the scoreline on home turf, while Leonardo Ulloa and Marc Albrighton also got involved in the goal action.

Interestingly, in the last four meetings between the two sides, only one team has got on the scoresheet, with Leicester coming out on top in three of them.

Swansea have beaten the Foxes once in their last five head to heads - a 2-0 win in October 2014.


We say: Leicester City 2-0 Swansea City

Leicester have a proven track record over Swansea, and Ranieri's men will be desperate to grab their first league win of the season in front of their home supporters. Vardy has not yet got off the mark, but given that he has scored nine times in their 16-match unbeaten run at home, backing him to find the back of the net this weekend would be a safe bet. Swansea failed to keep up momentum from their opening-day win and without Williams in defence, they could struggle to keep out Leicester's attacking stars.



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