Looking to preserve their 100% record since the arrival of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester City will welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the King Power Stadium for a Premier League battle on Sunday afternoon.
The Foxes managed a 3-1 success over out-of-form West Ham United in the East Midlands on Tuesday night, while the Seagulls’ poor run against Fulham continued at Craven Cottage two days later.
Match preview
Following a sobering six-game winless run across the Premier League and EFL Cup – during which time former head coach Steve Cooper was relieved of his duties – Leicester returned to winning ways for the first time since October 19 last time out, beating West Ham at the King Power.
The Van Nistelrooy era in the East Midlands started excellently as Jamie Vardy fired the Foxes ahead in the Tuesday night contest during the opening two minutes, before second-half strikes from Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka secured maximum points, despite a late consolation for the Hammers from Germany international Niclas Fullkrug.
Now seeking successive home victories for the first time since April, Leicester are in 16th place in the Premier League table on the back of their mauling of the Hammers, four points clear of fellow newly-promoted outfit Ipswich Town in the highest of the relegation places.
Despite largely being forced to settle for a spot on the bench under the tutelage of Enzo Maresca in the Championship during the 2023-24 campaign, club legend Vardy is taking centre stage once again for the Foxes in the top flight, providing seven goal contributions across 13 Premier League appearances so far.
Losing just three of their opening seven league fixtures at the King Power, Leicester should be relatively confident of collecting a positive result on Sunday afternoon, although only Crystal Palace 1, Ipswich 0, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 and Southampton 1 have won fewer than the Foxes’ two home matches this term.
After a three-game unbeaten run that included wins over champions Manchester City and South Coast rivals Bournemouth, Brighton’s positive streak of results was halted on Thursday night by Fulham, who are unbeaten across all nine Premier League meetings between the two sides.
A second league strike of the term from midfield general Carlos Baleba restored parity in the Craven Cottage contest after Alex Iwobi put the hosts into an early lead, but a Matt O’Riley own goal and a second of the match for the Nigeria international completed a comfortable success for Marco Silva’s men.
Brighton were guilty of handing Fulham their first goal of the capital clash when Bart Verbruggen’s poor pass gifted the ball to Iwobi in the fourth minute, with the Seagulls conceding six goals as a result of individual errors so far this term – only Southampton (9) have managed more.
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler insisted post-match that his team will not alter their plan of attack despite recent mistakes, and it is hard to argue that the 31-year-old is taking the wrong approach considering that Sunday’s visitors to Leicester are sitting fifth in the Premier League table, just three points off the Champions League spots.
All three of Brighton’s defeats have arrived away from their South Coast base during the 2024-25 league campaign, although the Seagulls are very capable travellers, with only league leaders Liverpool (5) and a resurgent Chelsea (5) enjoying more away successes than Hurzeler’s men.
Leicester City Premier League form:
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Leicester City form (all competitions):
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Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League form:
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Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):
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Team News
On loan from Sunday’s visitors, Leicester star Facundo Buonanotte is ineligible for this weekend’s clash, meaning that Van Nistelrooy will be forced to shuffle his attacking pack despite netting three times earlier in the week.
With El Khannouss able to play through the middle, the likes of Stephy Mavididi and Jordan Ayew will fight it out for a place on the left-hand side.
Dropped by Van Nistelrooy after a 13-month run in the team, Wout Faes is expected to be Leicester’s back-up once more, with Conor Coady and Jannik Vestergaard at the heart of the defence.
Harry Winks is still fighting back from a hamstring problem, while Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) and Abdul Fatawu (knee) are not expected to return until March and August 2025 respectively.
Brighton remain without the services of Jack Hinshelwood (knee) and Ferdi Kadioglu (muscle), limiting the visitors’ options on the flanks of their back four.
James Milner (hamstring), Adam Webster (hamstring) and Solly March (knee) remain sidelined, and Hurzeler is unable to ring too many changes into his first XI for the trip.
Goalkeeper Jason Steele could be vying for a place in goal as reward for Verbruggen’s howler at Craven Cottage, but it would come as no shock to see the Seagulls stand by their Dutch goalkeeper.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Soumare; McAteer, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Vardy
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Lamptey, Igor, Dunk, Estupinan; O’Riley, Baleba; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Pedro
Despite the comfortable-looking scoreline, Leicester rode their luck at times against West Ham and will not be able to get away with conceding countless shots for a second time this week.
Brighton were arguably the better side at Craven Cottage on Thursday night and should be able to return to winning ways at the home of the Foxes.
