After a thrilling opening game at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal, Leicester return home this weekend looking to pick up their first points of the season. They face a Brighton team that are newly promoted and were also defeated last weekend. Brighton know they need to pick up some points from somewhere early in the season, but this will be tough, Leicester deserve a lot of credit for how they played against Arsenal.
This is going to be an interesting season for Leicester after the struggles of last season and Brighton are also going to be great to watch in their battle for survival. This should be a good game, with two teams that interest me and I am looking forward to it.
Leicester Form
Leicester should really have bagged themselves three points last weekend, after throwing away a lead at the Emirates. They struggled last season, although that was partly expected due to their title winning season the year before and this season is one where they need to settle down again.
They have the ability to finish mid-table this season, with many different scoring options in the team. A good start will really help them and give them the confidence that they can do well this season. The confidence comment especially applies to striker Jamie Vardy, who struggled last season after being so impressive during the title winning season. He scored two in the opener and could really do with some early goals to bring him back to life.
Brighton Form
Brighton are a team that many expect to be struggling in the relegation zone this season and it is going to be interesting to see how they perform over the first few games. They lost 2-0 on the opening day in a home game to Manchester City, but they weren’t disgraced in that one and it was a game they weren’t expected to win anyway. This offers a more realistic challenge and they could really do with picking up some points in their first few games to give them confidence.
While Brighton didn’t have much of the ball last weekend, and they didn’t have many opportunities, they can be pleased with how they defended. They were put under a lot of pressure by City, but coped well on the whole and it is those types of defending performances that they will need each week to give them a chance of survival. The Premier League is going to be tough for Brighton but a few early points on the board will make things slightly easier.
Team News
Jamie Vardy is going to be very important to Leicester this season after his slightly disappointing year last year. He was fantastic during their title winning season and after two goals last weekend, he looks like he could return to that kind of form. If he does then Leicester’s chances of a top half finish increase massively.
Brighton are going to have to perform brilliantly in defence every single week if they struggle to keep the ball and create so little like they did last weekend. I will forgive them their performance last weekend, they had a tough opener against one of the top four, but they have to show more in this game. Players like Tomer Hemed, Davy Propper and Pascal Gross need to bring more creativity and flair to the team when they have the ball and against Leicester they will get more of a chance to do that.
Top Betting Tips
This should be a good game and it will be interesting to see how these two fare after their different starts last weekend. I was very impressed with Leicester, they played well and without fear, something that reminded me of their title winning season. I don’t think they are anywhere near that level but they are in a better position this season than where they were last summer.
Brighton need to be more creative and keep the ball for longer, it was hard last weekend for them against Manchester City, but this weekend they need to show more. I think Brighton do have flair and creativity in the team, but they have to show us what they are capable of. They also need to defend well again, which they did for most of the game last weekend.
My bet in this one is for a Leicester win, although with little value in the normal market I am going to back them to win to nil. This is available at 9/5 with Betfred and Paddy Power and I believe it offers value based on how attacking Brighton were last week. If Brighton show the same attacking mentality then they are not going to get many chances against Leicester and eventually Leicester will find a way to win.