Vardy to continue his goalscoring party vs Arsenal
Two resurgent sides meet at the King Power Stadium in the Barclays Premier League lunchtime kick-off on Saturday. After suffering a slow start characterised by defensive lapses, Leicester City appeared to have turned the corner, with Brendan Rodgers' name being linked to both Manchester clubs as their next head coach. Arsenal dominated Aston Villa in the first half of their previous match, eventually winning 3-1. Success against a side that finished above them last season is the next benchmark for Mikel Arteta's team to judge themselves against. Read our preview here:
Running the Vard miles
Despite striker Patson Daka's four-goal haul in the Europa League trip to Spartak Moscow, he has largely had to be content with cameos from the bench in the league; indeed, he didn't start the win over Manchester United. Rodgers instead persisted with Kelechi Ihenacho as Jamie Vardy's partner-in-crime, and the Foxes now have a trio of bona fide game changers up top. Daka's integration will continue gradually, and he showed plenty of menace in the eventual penalty shoot-out triumph against Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup during midweek. At 34, Vardy has probably lost a yard of pace, but still has all the right instincts required to position himself expertly, either on the counter or on the end of a cutting through-ball by Youri Tielemans. Doubtlessly, the back three are still vulnerable without Wesley Fofana and the protection of Wilfried Ndidi, but with both James Maddison and Harvey Barnes playing their way into some semblance of form, there are plenty of individuals for their opponents to concern themselves with.
Bugs in a Rowe
Emile Smith Rowe put in a masterclass during the triumph over Villa, but there are a number of likely absentees due to a stomach bug at the north London outfit. Ben White, Kieran Tierney, Pablo Marí, and Martin Ødegaard could be missing, though Arteta understandably has been coy in his press conference as to who will eventually line up tomorrow. Rowe is not said to be affected, and will help dictate the play where the hosts are weakest currently - defending in the right half-space. Nuno Tavares might dovetail with him at left-back, whilst the rest of the attacking quartet should remain as is. Once more, their fortunes will largely hinge on Thomas Partey in particular striding forwards with the ball to link both zones.
24 Hour Party People
This has the potential to be a high scoring game, the winner of which is far less certain. Casumo have odds of 2.50 for Vardy to trouble the onion bag at anytime in the match.
