Brighton Hove & Albion Vs Leicester City
Saturday 23 November 2019 – 15:00 Kick-Off
English Premier League
Pick: Both Teams to Score
Odds: 3/4
Bookmaker: Bet365
English Premier League Betting – 22Bet
(All betting odds displayed were correct as of 20 November 2019 at 23:40)
Preview: Visiting Leicester are the talk of the Premier League at the moment. Second in the table and trailing Liverpool by eight points, The Foxes are mounting a serious push for a top-finish and know victory this weekend, over a Brighton side that has been in sparkling form of late at home, would be another small step towards fulfilling their objective.
Brighton Hove & Albion Vs Leicester City Live Stats & Betting Odds
Brighton Preview – Fourth straight home win for The Seagulls?
For a team targeting a fourth consecutive Premier League home win, Brighton (11th – W4 D3 L5, GF15 GA17) look tremendous value in the latest round of top-flight fixtures. Coming up against an in-form opponent that are currently second in the table is never going to be an easy task. But Graham Potter’s men have been in excellent recent form, particularly inside their own stadium where this weekend they will be keen to add high-flying Leicester to the scalps of Everton (3-2), Norwich (2-0) and Tottenham (3-0).
The club would, unfortunately, head into the recent international break on a defeat, deservedly losing 3-1 away to Manchester United. The defence allowed far too many chances that day (xGA 3.55), but not without posing a few problems of their own (xGF 1.22). A goal being just reward for their sheer persistence, with Shane Duffy’s consolation at Old Trafford continuing a positive scoring trend which has seen them notch in each of their last five league encounters.
Albion will, however, require all their creative expertise for this match-up, up against one of the league’s better performing defences. The omens are promising, though: the only side to have prevented Brighton from scoring at The Amex all season was Southampton. That remains their one and only home loss thus far, losing 2-0 after playing an hour with ten men. Provided all eleven players remain on the field, The Seagulls will carry a significant goal threat (xGF average in 2019/20: 1.6).
Leicester Preview – Rodgers to mastermind third successive away victory?
Talk of another title tilt certainly feels premature, but there seems to be no escaping the fact that, once again, Leicester City (2nd – W8 D2 L2, GF29 GA8) are not going away. With almost a third of the campaign completed it is them, a team transformed under Brendan Rodgers, who are the nearest pursuer to the runaway leaders, Liverpool. That would explain the reasoning behind bookmakers installing them as firm favourites for this tricky-looking trip to the South of the country.
Victory over Arsenal prior to the international break, displaying their now accustomed clinical edge to win a relatively tight contest (xG: LEI 1.26 – 1.03 ARS), made it four successive maximum hauls, to go with triumphs earned over Burnley (2-1), Southampton (0-9) and Crystal Palace (0-2). If anything the recently enforced hiatus came at the most inopportune moment, right when The Foxes were building up ahead of steam.
A strength of theirs in particular this season has been defensively. No team has conceded fewer goals than their sum of eight, at a rate comfortably less than a goal per game (0.67). That does increase slightly when on the road (0.87), although trips to Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd were fraught with danger and so limiting that trio to just four goals between them, along with clean sheets in their latest two away outings at Southampton and Crystal Palace, highlights just how impressive their rearguard has been.
Brighton Vs Leicester City Key Facts:
- Brighton are bidding to win for a fourth consecutive home game in the Premier League (beat Everton, Norwich and Tottenham).
- Leicester have won their last two away matches in the league (to Southampton and Crystal Palace), both without conceding a goal.
- Both league meetings in 2018/19 were close and produced goals for both teams, with Leicester winning 2-1 at home but drawing 1-1 in Brighton.
Betting Summary
Brighton (14/5 Unibet) are on the cusp of the top-half of the table after claiming nine of the last fifteen points on offer – marked improvement from their first seven games, which returned only six points. Furthermore, this recent increase in returns has come exclusively at home. Were Graham Potter’s team to come out on top on Saturday, it would be a fourth straight home win for a side that continues to grow in stature from an offensive perspective (they’ve scored at least once in the last five fixtures, and in all but one of their six as hosts).
Leicester (21/20 Betway) are, of course, among the league’s in-form teams, perched second in the standings behind only Liverpool. Some stout defending married with some ruthless efficiency in the attacking third has brought them plenty of success so far, but whether this is sustainable remains to be seen. Four wins in a row – two away from home and both without conceding – does, however, mean they arrive at The Amex with momentum and self-belief in abundance.
As impressive a rearguard action as Leicester’s has so far been, they have still conceded more goals (and, crucially, more chances) on their travels, despite still being relatively sound in that aspect. Brighton will look to play on the front foot in an effort to register another victory in front of a home crowd, and their new brand of free-flowing football under Graham Potter could lead to an entertaining affair.
