Thursday, 17 January 2013

Leicester City v Middlesbrough - Match Preview

Leicester City welcome promotion rivals Middlesbrough to the King Power Stadium looking to make it five wins in a row in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Friday night.

Following last weekend's emphatic 4-0 win over Bristol City, the Foxes moved above Boro in the Championship table and could be in an automatic promotion place on Friday night if they win.

Nigel Pearson is likely to name an unchaged team after last Saturday's win so Anthony Knockaert should start despite being substituted early in the last game as a precaution.

Chris Wood, with six goals in his first three games in a City shirt following his move from West Brom, will partner David Nugent upfront, while Wes Morgan and Michael Keane should continue their partnership at centre back.

Fellow defenders Sean St Ledger (hamstring) and Zak Whitbread (calf) remain sidelined, but Jamie Vardy is pushing for a place on the bench after recovering from his heel injury.

Middlesbrough could welcome back striker Marvin Emnes (hamstring) and defenders Andre Bikey (hamstring) and Justin Hoyte (hip).

The trio have been out for several games but returned to training this week, and providing they don't report any ill effects, should make the trip. However, the game will come too soon for Jonathan Woodgate.

Striker Ishmael Miller and midfielder Josh McEachran face late fitness tests after they both limped out during Saturday's loss to Watford.

Miller has a hamstring problem, while Chelsea loanee McEachran aggrevated his ankle.

Boro go into the game on the back of two consecutive league defeats and have lost seven of their 13 league games so far on their travels.

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson: "At the moment it's about keeping our focus on getting performances right, because we know we have good players.

"There's no getting away from the fact that the players have been performing well. Against Bristol City, we have played better than that this season, but we were able to get an emphatic win, which is really important for us at the moment.

"Middlesbrough are having a really good season. Tony is very thorough with his preparation and they will be a difficult nut to crack."

Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray: "We've had a tough two or three weeks with players being unavailable but every team's the same and we have to get on with it.

"We have a few back and a few options and it's looking better on the selection front than it was a few weeks ago."

Match odds: Leicester (4/6) Draw (11/4) Middlesbrough (4/1)

Leicester to win 3-1 (11/1) 2-2 draw (13/2) Middlesbrough to win 2-1 (12/1)

Chris Wood to score a brace (4/1) Scott McDonald to score first (7/1)


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