Mesut Ozil to get the nod ahead of Nicolas Pepe? Leicester vs Arsenal predicted teams and injury news
Arsenal travel to Leicester City on Saturday night in a Premier League clash which could have potentially serious European ramifications.
The 5.30pm clash, which is exclusively live on talkSPORT, sees Brendan Rodgers put his young and hungry Foxes up against a Gunners side in complete disarray.
The Gunners have endured a miserable start to the new campaign, with former record signing Mesut Ozil being dropped from some matchday squads completely and current record signing Nicolas Pepe failing to live up to his £72million price tag.
Added to that, Granit Xhaka has since been stripped of the captaincy after his strop against Crystal Palace and it is clear to see all is not well at the Emirates.
Conversely, Leicester are absolutely flying under Rodgers and sit third in the table after seven wins from a possible 11.
The former Liverpool boss has assembled a vibrant and vivacious squad at the King Power, capable of squaring up to even the best teams in the country.
Much of this success has been down to the form of striker Jamie Vardy, who is the first player to reach double figures this season. The last time he achieved this, the Foxes won the Premier League.
While Rodgers does not anticipate a repeat performance, the form of the veteran has seriously impressed the 46-year-old. Since his arrival in February, Vardy has scored 19 goals – more than any other player in the Premier League.
Shortly after the fairytale title win, the 32-year-old was approached by the Gunners about a potential move. Instead, he opted to remain with a club he joined for just £1million from Fleetwood over seven years ago.
Assessing why Vardy turned his back on a lucrative move to north London, Rodgers said: "It's about the individual, and it's not just the football, it's family.
"Sometimes players have to weigh up everything. He was at the stage in his career where he had just come off the back of being a champion, worldwide status for that season, and the story behind it.
"But he also probably had to sit down and reflect on the next part of his career, and thankfully for me, he stayed."
Team News
Provided Friday’s training session resulted in no injury concerns, Leicester could well line up with the same starting XI which secured a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace last time out.
Despite his strong cameo at Selhurst Park, Demarai Gray is unlikely to shift either Harvey Barnes or Ayoze Perez from the starting line-up.
The aforementioned Xhaka will miss out once again for the Gunners after missing the Europa League draw against Vitoria Guiamaeres on Thursday.
Hector Bellerin and David Luiz are expected to return to the defence, while Dani Ceballos is set to miss out and Mesut Ozil could return alongside Nicolas Pepe.
Predicted XIs
Leicester City
Arsenal
