Premier League - Football: Leicester City v Nottingham Forest preview

bet365 News Team Oct 02 2022

Leicester City and Nottingham Forest meet for the 108th time on Monday evening when they face off at the King Power Stadium in a crunch Premier League clash.

The Foxes are rooted to the bottom of the table with just one point to their name, while Forest are just one place and three points better off than their East Midlands rivals.

What	Leicester City v Nottingham Forest, Premier League
Where	King Power Stadium, Leicester
When	20:00, Monday 3rd October 2022
How to watch	Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League
Odds	Leicester 3/4, Draw 3/1, Nottm Forest 10/3

Rodgers seemingly on the brink

Despite losing six and drawing one of their seven league games, Leicester's owners have decided to stick with manager Brendan Rodgers and give him the chance to turn the club's fortunes around.

How long the Northern Irishman is given is anybody's guess, but a home defeat to rivals Forest on Monday would further increase the pressure and that could potentially spell the end of his time at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes are on a four-game losing streak and it is the manner of the last two defeats that has caused real concern. A 5-2 thumping at the hands of Brighton was followed by a 6-2 drubbing by Tottenham.

It is noted that those two losses came away from home and Leicester have shown a bit more fight in front of their own supporters, with a 2-2 draw against Brentford followed by 2-1 and 1-0 defeats to Southampton and Manchester United respectively.

Rodgers' men have the worst defensive record in the division, conceding 22 goals, but they have had little issue at the other end of the pitch and have found the back of the net 10 times.

It could be worth backing Leicester to win and both teams to score at 9/4, given the fact the home side have seen plenty of action at both ends.

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Cooper yet to find best XI

Forest's summer spending has been well publicised and it's perhaps no surprise to see the club struggling to pick up results this season, with just four points amassed from seven outings.

Steve Cooper is still chopping and changing in a bid to find out his best starting XI and the lack of cohesion has been seen in recent weeks, with the Tricky Trees losing their last four matches and conceding 14 goals in the process.

Playing away from home has been a particular issue for Forest, with defeats at Newcastle United and Manchester City coming either side of a 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.

Cooper is not under the same amount of pressure as Rodgers right now, but failure to get his side out of this sticky patch of form and out of the relegation zone soon would leave the owners with a decision to make.

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Fierce battle expected

While the football on show may not be of the highest standard, there should at least be some tackles flying around at the King Power Stadium as these two sides look to claim the bragging rights.

Of the 107 previous meetings, Leicester and Forest have both picked up 40 victories, while the other 27 contests have ended in draws. It was way back in 1901 when the duo first went head-to-head, with Forest running out 5-1 winners in the FA Cup.

The most recent clash came in February this year, again in the FA Cup, with Forest recording a comfortable 4-1 victory to extend their unbeaten streak against the Foxes to three matches.

The last four meetings between Leicester and Forest have produced 15 yellows and one red card, so the 13/8 on both teams to receive two or more cards on Monday looks appealing.

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Injuries hurting Forest

While Leicester are missing Ricardo Pereira, Ryan Bertrand and Patson Daka, their injury list is nothing compared to that of Forest's ahead of this crunch showdown.

Cooper is without defenders Omar Richards, Moussa Niakhate and Scott McKenna, as well as midfielders Orel Mangala and Morgan Gibbs-White and striker Emmanuel Dennis.

It is proving difficult for the Forest chief to select a consistent starting XI due to the plethora of injuries and it would be no surprise to see them struggle at Leicester.

The Foxes still have the likes of James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Kelechi Iheanacho to call upon and the quality of that trio could be enough to guide the Foxes to a much-needed first league win of the campaign - with City 11/4 to edge home by a one-goal margin.