Leicester v Watford: No shocks at the King Power

Manager-less Watford travel to the King Power on Wednesday evening and Paul Robinson isn't expecting them to even register a goal against an in-form Leicester.

Leicester v Watford
Wednesday December 4, 19:30

Last-gasp Leicester continue their climb

Kelechi Iheanacho was the unlikely here for Leicester against Everton on Sunday, as he came off the bench to assist the equaliser and then score an injury time winner. Unfortunately for him, I would be surprised if he is in the starting XI for this game, as Brendan Rodgers will likely stick with the team that has won the last six Premier League fixtures.
The Foxes head into the midweek round of matches sitting in second place - three points clear of their nearest pursuers. They have only conceded nine goals in 14 outings - which is the best record in the division - and in Jamie Vardy they have the league's leading scorer - 13 goals.
Champions League place surely has to be the target now for Brendan Rodgers, and everyone concerned with the club will have breathed a huge sigh of relief when the former Liverpool boss stated that he wasn't interested in the vacant Arsenal job.

Hornets in a mess

Another club where there is currently a vacancy is Watford. The board aborted their Quique Sánchez Flores experiment following their 2-1 defeat at Southampton - a loss which left them six points adrift of safety.
As is stands, Under-23 coach, Hayden Mullins, will take charge at the King Power on Wednesday, although Chris Hughton has been heavily linked with the position. Whoever it is though will have a big job on their hands, as the collapse at St Mary's was pretty abject, and certain players just don't look interested.
Troy Deeney has been on the bench for the last three games - only getting on in one of them. He had been out injured since August, and I would imagine that the fan favourite will be back in the side for this match. There could be other changes too, but Deeney looks like a certainty to start.

Foxes to keep it clean

The hosts are the clear favourites at the 1.38 mark and it's hard to argue that they are too short. Leicester may have needed a late winner against the Toffees, but they still played well, and this is a step down in opposition.
The real concern for me has to be the Watford defence. They have been pretty terrible this year - conceding 28 goals in 14 outings. They had improved a bit under Sánchez Flores, but in recent weeks they had regressed.
I can't even entertain the away win 10.00 or the draw 5.60, and as I am not into tipping 1.38 shots as singles, the best bet around the match odds has to be a home win to nil.
Brendan Rodgers' men have beaten Newcastle and Arsenal to nil at home this term, and they also kept a clean sheet against Wolves. This is the easiest task that they have faced, and a victory with a clean sheet is a very respectable 2.28 on the Betfair Exchange.
Another good omen for this selection is that Opta states that Leicester have won all five of their Premier League home games against Watford, scoring 10 goals and conceding just one. It's their best 100% home record against an opponent in the competition.

Be cautious when it comes to goals

When it comes to the goal markets, the automatic assumption is that there will be plenty - or at least three. That is backed up by the fact that Over 2.5 is trading at around the 1.71 mark, with the Under at 2.38.
As already outlined, I can't see the visitors getting on the scoresheet, so that would mean that Leicester need to score all three goals themselves.
For all that the Foxes have impressed this year - including Jamie Vardy - they have only netted more than twice in two of their seven home matches, and it was only at Southampton that they managed it on the road.
It's also worth noting that since Watford's 8-0 drubbing at Man City, their defence haven't conceded more than twice in any of their next four away matches, and the new manager's main objective will likely be to organise and tighten things up.

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