Leicester City
West Bromwich Albion FC
West Bromwich Albion FC
Leicester on a high after reaching FA Cup final and now face second-bottom West Brom
Leicester to win 2-0
Leicester returned to winning ways at the weekend, by beating Southampton and progressing to their first FA Cup final in over 50 years.
They’ll need to beat Chelsea to claim the trophy, but it shows another step forward that Leicester have achieved since Brendan Rodgers took over, and overall they’ll be pleased with their league performance this season.
The Foxes will want to improve their league form, however, particularly having lost their last two games. Recently level on points with 2nd place Manchester United, the gap has now grown to 10 points following poor form.
West Brom have shown good form of late, to beat both Chelsea and Southampton in consecutive games and close the gap on 18th place Fulham.
Unfortunately, it appears there isn’t enough time remaining for them to escape relegation, but it means they should give Leicester a good game here.
Form Guide (all comps): WWLLW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Beat West Brom 3-0 earlier in the season
Morale will be sky-high after reaching Cup final
Reasons to be fearful:
Could lose three consecutive matches for first time since 2019
Seven of their nine defeats have come at home
Brendan Rodgers has led Leicester to their first FA Cup final in over 50 years, adding to what has been an excellent season in the Premier League up until now.
Should they continue to drop points however, Leicester will find themselves in a real battle for a top four spot, something which ended badly for them on the final day of last season.
Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham are all within three points of the Foxes, although have each played a game more, but nothing less than a win will do here.
They aren’t in bad form – their two recent defeats came against leaders Manchester City and the excellent West Ham – but will want to use that morale-boosting victory at the weekend as inspiration here.
Star Man – Kalechi Iheanacho
He’s now their top scorer this season, and has 12 goals in his last 12 games for Leicester.
Form Guide (all comps): LDLWW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Could win three successive Premier League games for the first time since 2012
Scored eight goals in their last two fixtures
Reasons to be fearful:
Remain nine points adrift of safety
Only one team has survived with a points tally as low as West Brom’s
West Brom’s upturn in form has unfortunately come too late to save them from relegation as two wins on the bounce has still left them nine points behind 17th place Burnley.
It’s been impressive to watch, however. The Baggies have netted eight times in their last two games, five of which came against a shocked Chelsea side, with Southampton also coming on the receiving end as well.
West Brom don’t have the most difficult run in, with only Liverpool and West Ham to play who are currently in the top six.
They will feel confident of picking up points – maybe even enough to overtake Fulham in 18th – but it’s unlikely to be enough.
On paper, Leicester should have too much for the Baggies, but they’ve been in good form recently.
Star Man – Matheus Pereira
Has three goals and two assists in his last two games, and is the Baggies’ top scorer.
Leicester should boss the game
Both sides will get chances
Baggies may be the fresher of the two
West Brom have had over 10 days to prepare for this game, whereas Leicester played just a few days ago.
An FA Cup semi-final win will have taken quite a bit out of their system, and fatigue could be an issue for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
That said, Leicester have a strong squad, and coming into this game on the back of two league defeats, will be determined to return to winning ways.
Leicester to win 2-0
