Arsenal will host Leicester City as they will try to maintain their winning run at the Emirates on Saturday in the Premier League.
The Gunners did show their credentials with a much improved performance against Crystal palace but a much more competitive team is waiting for them in the next match.
Arsenal convincingly defeated the Foxes in both the fixtures last season and would love to repeat that feat this season too. Mikel Arteta’s side has been pretty busy in the transfer market and another couple of players could arrive in North London before the transfer window closes.
They lost a gilt edged chance to secure a place in the Champions League as a dip in form cost them heavily and the manager doesn’t want to burden his team with a similar scenario this time.
Gabriel Martinelli found the net once while another Marc Guehi own goal ensured an Arsenal victory in the very first match. Aaron Ramsdale had a great evening in the goal as he made a number of good saves to keep his team in the game.
Gabriel Jesus had impressed in the preseason and he continued his traits in the first match too and was unlucky not to find the net while William Saliba was on point with his performance against the Eagles.
The Gunners are on a three match winning streak against the Foxes in the Premier League and are the favourites to secure a win in their first home match.
Jesus was sporadically used last season by Pep Guardiola but he is expected to take a more prominent role this season. He will be used more centrally as Arteta knows his ability having worked with the player at Manchester City before.
Leicester City did show some promise in the first match but they couldn’t maintain the momentum in the second half against Brentford as the Bees came back from two goal down to salvage a point.
Leicester haven’t made a single signing so far as manager Brendan Rodgers is still searching for the perfect player in the transfer market. There could be a couple of outgoings as both Wesley Fofana and Youri Tielemans have been linked with potential departures.
Fofana is in demand as Chelsea are looking to add him to their squad while Tielemans could be on his way to another London giant Chelsea who are an avid admirer of the midfielder.
Rodgers has kept the core squad intact but the Kasper Schmeichel’s decision to leave the club left the club in the middle of uncertainty as Leicester now have only two goalkeepers and Danny Ward is likely to be the preferred choice in the goal.
The Foxes will surely conduct some transfer business before the transfer window shuts as they cannot sit ducks when the other teams are strengthening their ranks.
Rodgers still has a talented squad at his disposal but it would be a bit tough for the manager to compete for a European spot this term. Their harrowing away form in the last season had a massive effect on their results last season and they need to improve their display on road.
Arsenal vs Leicester City
Date: 13th August 2022
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Stadium: Emirates stadium
Arsenal vs Leicester City
Team News
Arsenal
Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe returned to training and could make it to the Gunners reserve bench. Ben White has some concerns but he should make it in time for the opening home match.
Leicester City
Despite his linkup with the Blues Wesley Fofana is set to start in this match. Harvey Barnes, Ricardo Pereira and Ryan Bertrand will miss this match
Arsenal Possible Lineup
Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
Leicester City
Ward; Fofana, Evans, Amartey; Castagne, Tielemans, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, Justin; Maddison; Vardy.
Predictions
Arsenal should have it easy against Leicester City at the Emirates.
Arsenal vs Leicester City Fantasy XI No. 1
Ramsdale; Fofana, Evans, Saliba; Ndidi, Tielamans, Partey, Xhaka; Vardy, Jesus, Martinelli
Arsenal vs Leicester City Fantasy XI No. 2
Ramsdale; Fofana, Evans, Saliba, Gabriel; Ndidi, Tielamans, Partey; Vardy, Jesus, Martinelli
