Leicester City will desperately hope to avoid a third defeat on the bounce in all competitions when Norwich City travel to the King Power Stadium for Wednesday's Premier League battle.
The Foxes were sunk 2-1 by Everton at the weekend, while the already-relegated Canaries were taught a footballing lesson by West Ham United in a 4-0 drubbing.
Match preview
A season that started with so much promise is ending in disarray for Leicester City, who are now officially condemned to a season without European football and find themselves closer to the relegation zone than the top seven at this late stage of the campaign.
The European hangover was always going to impact their chances of gleaning a positive result against an inspired Everton side, and even though Patson Daka capitalised on a defensive mix-up to find the back of the net, the Toffees prolonged their hosts' misery through Vitaliy Mykolenko's stunner and Mason Holgate's header.
Now winless in seven in all competitions and at risk of suffering three consecutive defeats in the top flight since the final days of Claude Puel's reign, Leicester are languishing in 14th in the standings and are only eight clear of the drop zone, so an incredible set of circumstances could still see them being dragged into a fight for survival.
Brendan Rodgers's side will welcome clashes with already-relegated Norwich and Watford to ease such fears - which would have been inconceivable at the start of the season - but they have only taken two points from the last 15 on offer in the top flight and still have to do battle with Chelsea before the season is done and dusted.
The Foxes were unbeaten in six Premier League games at the King Power before going down to Everton, but Rodgers can be expected to rotate once again, and Norwich are truly going out with a whimper.
Leicester were not the only British side to suffer continental heartache in the semi-finals of a European competition, but unlike the Foxes, West Ham United responded in perfect fashion by putting four unanswered goals past a hapless Norwich City side at Carrow Road.
Said Benrahma's brace, Michail Antonio's effort and Manuel Lanzini's penalty made it a dreadful day at the office for Dean Smith, whose side have now lost four in a row in the top flight and are already preparing for their next promotion push in the Championship.
The Canaries are not condemned to a 20th-placed finish just yet, though, with Watford - who will be joining them in the second tier - only one point better off, and Norwich need to salvage any shred of pride they can in the final few gameweeks.
However, Norwich's four-game losing streak has seen them concede a dismal 12 goals and fail to score in each of their last three, and they are still winless on the road against sides who were in the Premier League last season - beating only Brentford and Watford away from home so far.
On another negative note, Norwich could set a new unwanted club record of 78 Premier League goals conceded if they ship at least three at the King Power, and Rodgers's side claimed a 2-1 win at Carrow Road earlier this term as they endeavour to avoid a first-ever Premier League home loss against the basement team.
- W
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
Team News
As well as long-term absentees Wilfred Ndidi and Ryan Bertrand, Leicester were forced to cope without the trio of James Maddison, James Justin and Ricardo Pereira last time out, although Rodgers has confirmed that the former two will be OK for Wednesday's game.
Justin's season was initially feared to be over after he dislocated his shoulder against Roma in the Europa Conference League, and Pereira's unspecified issue has also put his participation in Leicester's final four games at risk.
Rodgers is sure to consider recalls for Harvey Barnes and Ademola Lookman in midweek, while a well-rested Jamie Vardy seeks to increase his phenomenal tally of 14 goals in his last 14 Premier League games against newly-promoted sides.
Leicester are not the only ones with a well-occupied treatment room right now, as Norwich remain without Kenny McLean, Ozan Kabak, Joshua Sargent, Andrew Omobamidele, Christoph Zimmermann and Adam Idah for the long term, while Mathias Normann will also sit this one out after missing the West Ham loss with a thigh injury.
Brandon Williams has also landed himself in hot water with the Canaries following a controversial Instagram post, so Dimitrios Giannoulis should be ready for action if the Manchester United loanee is disciplined by the club.
Smith was full of praise for 19-year-old Tony Springett after he came off the bench for his debut in the defeat to West Ham, and the Irish youngster will hope to force his way into the starting XI before the season is over.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Castagne, Fofana, Evans, Thomas; Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall; Lookman, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Byram, Giannoulis; Gilmour, Sorensen, Rupp; Dowell, Pukki, Rashica
We say: Leicester City 3-0 Norwich City
If ever there was a game for Leicester to receive a massive injection of confidence, it would be this one, with Norwich incapable of keeping the back door shut and offering little to nothing in attack over the past few weeks.
A return to the starting lineup for the free-scoring Vardy will also be a sight for sore eyes for the King Power faithful, who should witness their side post a long-overdue victory with minimal difficulty.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Leicester City win with a probability of 69.56%. A draw has a probability of 19% and a win for Norwich City has a probability of 11.44%.
The most likely scoreline is Leicester City 2-0 Norwich City with a probability of 13.27%. The next most likely scorelines are 1-0 (12.66%), 2-1 (9.43%), 3-0 (9.27%).
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
