Leicester v Everton: Flying Foxes unlikely to be grounded

High-flying Leicester will look to consolidate their position in second in the Premier League when under-fire Everton head to the King Power on Super Sunday. Mark O'Haire previews the encounter...

Leicester v Everton
Sunday December 1, 16:30
Sky Sports

Leicester excel on the south coast

Leicester equalled their best-ever Premier League run by racking up a fifth successive victory last week. The Foxes dispatched Brighton with consummate ease at The Amex to strengthen their position in second, eight points behind runaway leaders Liverpool. Jamie Vardy maintained his brilliant scoring streak with Ayoze Perez also on-target in a 2-0 triumph.

Vardy has been key to the Foxes' form and he once again was the shining light on a dark, rainy day on the south coast. The striker set up Perez for the 64th-minute opener after a swift counter-attack and then added the second from the spot, after his initial spot-kick, saved and headed in by James Maddison, had to be retaken for encroachment.

Kasper Schmeichel failed to be tested once by the home side and Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers believed his side could have won by more as the Foxes generated 3.00 Expected Goals (xG). Rodgers said: "We played very, very well considering we've come back from the international break. With a better selection of passes we could have scored more though."

Silva teetering on the brink with Toffees

Everton manager Marco Silva looks set to be in charge of Everton for Sunday's showdown despite increased speculation suggesting the Portuguese head coach could be axed following the Toffees dreadful display in defeat at home to Norwich last weekend. Key boardroom personnel held a meeting in the immediate aftermath to discuss Silva's future.

Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, director of football Marcel Brands and chairman Bill Kenwright held talks and further discussions were staged over the weekend. It looks certain Silva's reign at Goodison Park is coming to a close but Everton's board may be holding fire as there are no obvious immediate successors to Silva, who's been in situ since June 2018.

The Toffees lie in 16th place despite heavy investment from Moshiri and have now lost to all three newly-promoted clubs, including home defeats by Sheffield United and Norwich. And Silva's task doesn't get any easier with this weekend's trip to Leicester followed by successive league games against Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Foxes fancied to pile more misery on Everton

Everton won 2-1 at the King Power Stadium last season, one of only six away wins in 25 under Marco Silva's watch (W6-D6-L13). The Toffees have W5-D4-L4 in their last 13 Premier League meetings with the Foxes - recording a solitary shutout in that sequence - with none of the most recent eight duels ending all-square (W4-D0-L4).

Leicester 1.68 are looking to win six consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since their club record run of seven in March 1963. The Foxes have won their last five by an aggregate 17-1 and have conceded a league-low eight Premier League goals this season. The hosts have returned W9-D2-L1 in their 12 home outings under Brendan Rodgers' watch.

Everton 5.70 are looking to win back-to-back away game for the first time since 2016. However, the Toffees are winless in their last 32 trips to teams starting the day in the top four (W0-D10-L22) and their aforementioned road record under Marco Silva - including failure to even score in 10/25 (40%) games as guests - make the visitors a sorry proposition.

With Leicester too short to support, it's worth heading to Betfair Sportsbook's Same Game Multi market to bolster the odds on offer. Here we can back the Foxes to succeed with Jamie Vardy to score at a more appetising 2.40. Vardy has 12 goals in his last 12 home league games and 48 in 94 at the KP in the Premier League; he's also averaging a goal every 98 minutes during Rodgers' reign.

Avoid inconsistent goals angle

Leicester have scored at least twice in nine of their 13 Premier League outings this term, including five of six at the King Power. But it's not all about their efficient and effective attack as the Foxes have faced the fifth-fewest shots in the division and returned a better Expected Goals (xG) against record than defending champions Manchester City.

Such balance to the side has led to a reasonable number of contests falling below the goals line. Indeed, only 7/13 (54%) of Leicester's encounters have paid out for Over 2.5 Goals 1.86 backers with the 9-0 triumph at Southampton providing a major boost to the Foxes' 3.00 goals per-game average.

Everton have been one of the Premier League's biggest disappointments with the Toffees' toils in the final-third playing a major role in the club's underperformance. Only Watford are converting fewer attempts at goal and the visitors have already fired blanks in five of their 13 fixtures in 2019/20, suggesting a goals-based play might best be avoided on Sunday.