Two sides who have enjoyed promising starts to the season meet on Monday night as Leeds United host Leicester City in the Premier League.
In their first top flight campaign for 16 years, Leeds went into the weekend sitting in the top half of the table at this early stage, just two points behind last season's fifth-placed side and their upcoming opponents.
Injuries have robbed both teams of key players, and though there is still plenty of talent on offer, Monday's matchup will partly be a test of which manager deals with their absences better.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? Monday 2 November
What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Elland Road
TV Channel/Live Stream? Sky Sports Main Event (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee? Andre Marriner
Team News
Leeds were dealt a major blow with the injury to midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Sidelined for six weeks, Marcelo Bielsa turned to natural centre-back Pascal Struijk against Aston Villa last week.
While long-term absentees Gaetano Berardi and Adam Forshaw remain unavailable, club captain Liam Cooper is set to return to the side after a two-game absence, though summer arrival Diego Llorente may be forced to wait another week for his maiden appearance.
Brendan Rodgers gave an update on injuries to Timothy Castagne and Jonny Evans, while also providing a potential return date for Ricardo Pereira! ?
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 31, 2020
Leicester themselves have been deprived of their defensive midfield maestro, as Wilfred Ndidi is bound to the treatment table for possibly another two months. Centre-back Caglar Soyuncu is set to miss out for three months after getting injured on international but Jonny Evans is set to return to the defence.
Injuries were a considerable factor in Leicester's dip in form at the end of last season, with rampaging right-back Ricardo Pereira perhaps the biggest of those absences. While the Portuguese is set for his first appearance of the season at the end of November, his fellow full-back Timothy Castagne has been ruled out until after the international break.
Predicted Lineups
Leeds: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Dallas; Costa, Struijk, Klich, Harrison; Rodrigo; Bamford.
Leicester: Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Fuchs; Albrighton, Tielemans, Mendy, Justin; Barnes, Vardy, Maddison.
Recent Form
After conceding seven goals in their opening two league games while scoring seven themselves, Leeds have let in just two more in the following four Premier League outings.
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— 90min (@90min_Football) October 23, 2020
While Patrick Bamford's remarkable conversation rate of a goal every four shots is unlikely to persist for the entire campaign, Leicester are up against a striker in form and fresh from his first Premier League hat-trick.
Aside from two surprisingly lacklustre defeats to teams in claret and blue, Leicester have won their remaining four league games. With a less high-pressing-orientated approach so far, the Foxes have shown their considerable threat on the counter-attack against both Manchester City and Arsenal.
Here's how each side has fared in their last five matches.
Leeds
Aston Villa 0-3 Leeds (23/10)
Leeds 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (19/10)
Leeds 1-1 Manchester City (3/10)
Sheffield United 0-1 Leeds (27/9)
Leeds 4-3 Fulham (19/9)
Leicester
AEK Athens 1-2 Leicester (29/10)
Arsenal 0-1 Leicester (25/10)
Leicester 3-0 Zorya Lugansk (22/10)
Leicester 0-1 Aston Villa (18/10)
Leicester 0-3 West Ham United (4/10)
Prediction
While Brendan Rodgers may have adopted a more reactive strategy, to great success, in recent weeks, Bielsa's Leeds have scarcely deviated from their full-blooded, front-foot approach.
Both teams have benefitted from strokes of good fortune at this embryonic stage of the campaign. Leeds may be running hot in front of goal in terms of finishing, but Leicester have been fortunate themselves with a glut of penalties - leading the league (even Manchester United) with five spot kicks going into Monday's game.
In what promises to be an interesting tactical tussle, both sides pose considerable threats to the other.
Prediction: Leeds 1-1 Leicester
Source: 90min
