Just one point from the two home games after the big win at Palace definitively puts to an end our fleeting play-off hopes. And, to be honest, I didn’t think they were ever on in the first place. Although it’ll probably have a different outcome, the setup of this game is very similar to that of the Palace match just a couple of weeks ago. That is, the pressure will be entirely on Leicester. They’re at home, on an 8 match winless run, yet only two points off the play-offs. So they have to win. By contrast, we’re away from home and have nothing to play for. And, well, you never know. That might just suit us.

Team News

Leicester have no new injury problems, and for Blues there’s a return to the squad for Chris Burke and Shane Ferguson. Burke had missed three match due to an ankle injury, whilst Ferguson had been taken ill before the Millwall game.

Possible Line-ups

Blues

Butland; Caddis, Davies, Robinson, Hancox; Redmond, Fahey, Reilly, Elliott, Ferguson; Zigic

Leicester

Schmeichel; De Laet, Morgan, Keane, Konchesky; Knockaert, Drinkwater, James, Schlupp; Wood, Nugent

My Analysis

I think 4-5-1 would be the best formation for Clark to use in this one, as it would help us get men behind the ball and frustrate Leicester. Because the Foxes need to win the game for their play-off ambitions, this might encourage them to play with a higher defensive line. If we stick to our defensive zones, Leicester should eventually become frustrated and try longer passes, which we can defend easily and hit them on the counter-attack. We might get a lot of joy down our right side on the break, because their left-back Konchesky likes to play quite far forward, so Redmond and Caddis can catch him out of position with their pace.

Leicester this season

Having spent a lot of the season in and around the automatic promotion spots, a run of 8 games without a win has seen them slip outside the play-off places. A big problem over this period has been a lack of goals, only having scored 4 in those 8 games. Interestingly, none of these goals were scored by a striker, and top scorer Nugent hasn’t in fact scored in 14 games, so you do wonder where their goals are going to come from. On the flip side though, the Foxes still have the best defensive record in the Championship.

My Prediction

Because Leicester are in such poor form, and in desperate need of a win, I’m actually going to back ourselves to get the 3 points. We can go into the game in relaxed fashion, because we’re playing away from home and few will expect us to win. I predict this will work in our favour, and if Leicester keep piling bodies forward in search of a goal in the second half, our attacking wide men will come into their own on the counter-attack. I think we’ll end up nicking it 0-1.

Other predictions

@Bluehobba: I’m going for a score draw as we always score #kro