‘Would be massive’ – Mark Lawrenson states the prediction between Southampton vs Leicester – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Leicester City will face Southampton away from home in the Premier League clash on Friday night.
Former Liverpool defender turned popular football pundit, Mark Lawrenson, has predicted a 2-0 victory for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
The two sides met recently in the FA Cup semi-final, where Leicester won 1-0. Lawrenson is confident that the Foxes will win tonight at St Mary’s.
Both sides are heading into this game on the back of contrasting forms.
The Saints have lost three games in a row in all competitions. Leicester, on the other hand, have won three in a row, including back-to-back Premier League wins.
The Foxes find themselves third in the league table with 62 points, four points above fourth-placed Chelsea.
Lawrenson has rightly pointed out that the two recent wins in the Premier League have given the Foxes a “breathing space”, and another victory here would be massive for them.
The BBC pundit has also showered praise on Leicester striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, who is one of the most in-form forwards in the country at the moment, with 14 goals in his last 14 games.
Lawrenson told BBC Sport:
“This is a re-run of the FA Cup semi-final from a couple of weeks ago and I think we will see the same outcome at St Mary’s Stadium as we did at Wembley – a Leicester victory.
“Back-to-back Leicester wins in the league have given them a bit of breathing space ahead of the teams chasing them, and another victory here would be massive if the sides outside the top four keep dropping points.
“Kelechi Iheanacho’s purple patch in front of goal has come at exactly the right time for the Foxes and they have got the firepower to win here as well.”
Ahead of the match, Southampton boss, Ralph Hasenhuttl, has suggested that Iheanacho is a “very good finisher”, and that they need to be careful about the threat he can bring.
The Saints boss told BBC Sport:
“But yes, you must always be careful, don’t give him a chance around the box, he’s a very good finisher.
“He has good self-confidence at the moment. Like all Premier League teams they have strikers who are strong and can hurt you.”
Meanwhile, Southampton striker Danny Ings could be out for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old is yet to return to training after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 defeat against Tottenham.
In other news, Tottenham Hotspur have ended their interest in Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers.