Friday Night Football comes from Molineux between two sides hoping to be in Europe next season. We preview the action, with a best bet to consider.
Recommended bets
1pt Wolves to beat Leicester win & both teams to score at 21/5
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Wolves v Leicester City
- 2000 GMT kick-off on BT Sport
We kick-off the second half of the Premier League winter break schedule with a Valentine's Day clash that should warm everyone's heart between two lovely football teams who both play the game the way we all love to see.
The 14-point gap between Leicester and Wolves doesn't really reflect the respective quality in the two teams - Wolves have undoubtedly been struggling with Europa League football and the Foxes have been fresher and, as a result, that bit more consistent.
After both have had a break though, Wolves can dial up one of the big performances we've seen previously at Molineux against Liverpool and Manchester City when they more than matched the two dominant forces in the Premier League.
There are almost always goals in Wolves games - no team has had more games with both sides scoring than Nuno's men with a league-high 19. They've scored in every Premier League home game and kept just two clean sheets, so even though Jamie Vardy hasn't scored since December 21, Leicester should still find the net here.
The bare form shows you Wolves have just one win in eight, but Leicester have suffered some bad results themselves with defeats against Aston Villa, Burnley and Southampton recently where they looked wide open through the middle and in need of strengthening defensively.
Brendan Rodgers may well go to a back three to match up to Wolves but it could well be a mistake to make the switch against a side that knows how to play to their own strengths so well.
Leicester's away games usually have goals in, and if Wolves can turn up with their big game mentality then they can pinch this one in what should be a great watch.
Prediction: Wolves 2-1 Leicester (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Key stats
- Wolves have won both of their previous Premier League home games against Leicester, by a 4-3 scoreline each time.
- Leicester have won just one of their last eight away league games against Wolves (D4 L3), winning 2-1 in the Championship in December 2006.
- This will be Wolves’ fifth Premier League game on a Friday, with their only previous victory coming in their last such game against Manchester City in December (L3).
- This will be Leicester’s ninth Premier League game on a Friday – they won their last such game 9-0 at Southampton in October, having failed to win any of their first seven on this day in the competition and netting just eight goals in the process (D2 L5).
- Wolves have both scored and conceded in a league-high 19 different Premier League games so far this season – as many as they had in the whole of the 2018-19 campaign.
- Leicester City have lost as many Premier League games when scoring the first goal this season as they have when conceding first (3).
- Wolves have scored a league-high 20% of their Premier League goals from outside the box this season (7/35). However, only Sheffield United (1) have conceded fewer goals from distance than Leicester this term (2).
- Raúl Jiménez has been involved in 38% of Wolves’ 313 Premier League shots this season (81 shots, 38 chances created), the highest ratio in the division. The Mexican has also been involved in 49% of Wolves’ 35 Premier League goals this term (11 goals, 6 assists), with only Teemu Pukki (58%) and Marcus Rashford (50%) involved in more for their side.
- Leicester’s James Maddison is one of just three players to have had 50+ shots (58) and created 50+ chances (64) for his teammates in the Premier League this season, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish.
- Leicester’s Jamie Vardy hasn’t scored in any of his last five Premier League games, with the striker last having a longer barren run in the competition between December 2016-February 2017 (7 games).
Odds via Sky Bet and correct as of 1202 GMT on 13/02/20
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