Claudio Ranieri sat the champions down this week for a little
heart-to-heart about their inconsistent form in the Premier League but
they have been able to rely on home performances so far with just two
points dropped at the King Power Stadium
. Seven points from six games and 12th place is a reasonable return all things considered bearing in mind an increased scrutiny on the Foxes plus the distraction of the Champions League (no current problems there!) but Ranieri is keen to ensure standards do not drop significantly and they retain contact with the leading pack. They were flattened at Old Trafford in the first half but much better after the break as they actually "won" the second half while a victory over Porto in Europe in midweek should have put the spring back in their step ahead of what should be a lively encounter with the Saints. Claude Puel's side seem to be getting the hang of how he wants them to play with Charlie Austin finding his scoring touch and the classy Dusan Tadic running the show from midfield with great panache. They won four in a rown in all competitions before Thursday's solid Europa League draw at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, although they were given an almighty helping hand to keep that run going by another shambolic West Ham effort last week at the London Stadium. That said, some of the speed of thought and fleet of foot would have troubled plenty of defences and you would have to be optimistic about their chances here as long as the off-field distractions surrounding assistant manager Eric Black don't creep onto the field of play. The home team's £27m striker Islam Slimani has settled in very nicely at his new club and the craft of Tadic should create some opportunities for the visitors so I am keen to have a small interest on over 3.5 goals in what could well be very entertaining fare indeed.
Opta facts:
. Seven points from six games and 12th place is a reasonable return all things considered bearing in mind an increased scrutiny on the Foxes plus the distraction of the Champions League (no current problems there!) but Ranieri is keen to ensure standards do not drop significantly and they retain contact with the leading pack. They were flattened at Old Trafford in the first half but much better after the break as they actually "won" the second half while a victory over Porto in Europe in midweek should have put the spring back in their step ahead of what should be a lively encounter with the Saints. Claude Puel's side seem to be getting the hang of how he wants them to play with Charlie Austin finding his scoring touch and the classy Dusan Tadic running the show from midfield with great panache. They won four in a rown in all competitions before Thursday's solid Europa League draw at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, although they were given an almighty helping hand to keep that run going by another shambolic West Ham effort last week at the London Stadium. That said, some of the speed of thought and fleet of foot would have troubled plenty of defences and you would have to be optimistic about their chances here as long as the off-field distractions surrounding assistant manager Eric Black don't creep onto the field of play. The home team's £27m striker Islam Slimani has settled in very nicely at his new club and the craft of Tadic should create some opportunities for the visitors so I am keen to have a small interest on over 3.5 goals in what could well be very entertaining fare indeed.
Opta facts:
- Leicester have lost only one of their 10 home Premier League games against the Saints, winning seven (D2).
- The Saints have only kept one clean sheet in their last 15 top-flight trips to Leicester, doing so in a 4-0 win in December 2001.
- The Foxes' haul of seven home Premier League wins against Southampton is their most against an opponent in the competition.
- Southampton have only won one of their seven league trips to the King Power Stadium, claiming a 2-1 victory in December 2007 - they have lost two and drawn one of three Premier League visits.
- Leicester have lost three of their six Premier League games this season (W2 D1), as many as they lost in their previous 42 in the competition (W26 D13).
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