Leicester City host strugglers Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship tonight as Enzo Maresca targets four straight league wins.
The last time Enzo Maresca’s Leicester City met Sheffield Wednesday was towards the end of November as Jeff Hendrick’s 93rd-minute equaliser cancelled out Abdul Fatawu’s first-half opener.
At this point, the Owls were 12 points behind 21st-place Huddersfield Town, but they’ve since closed that gap to five as the arrival of Danny Rohl has given them every chance of survival.
Leicester, on the other hand, were just one point clear of second place Ipswich Town. They have now pulled 15 points clear of the Tractor Boys, who have dropped to fourth while the Foxes are 12 above third-place Leeds United.
Despite boasting a healthy lead at the top, Maresca has learned not to get complacent after drawing against Wednesday and will be seeking revenge tonight.
Ahead of this clash, he will welcome back centre-back Jannik Vestergaard from his injury while Marc Albrighton is a doubt, Wilfred Ndidi remains sidelined with injury till April and the match will come too soon for Kelechi Iheanacho after his involvement in Sunday’s AFCON final.
Maresca can make some significant changes to the side that beat Watford 2-1 on Saturday to give some of his players a rest.
Here is how Leicester City could line up against Sheffield Wednesday…
Leicester City predicted XI vs Sheffield Wednesday – Stephy Mavididi & Jannik Vestergaard return
Mads Hermansen will most certainly remain in between the sticks for Leicester, although Jakub Stolarczyk did impress in the 3-0 victory over Birmingham City in the FA Cup last month.
As for the defence in front of him, Maresca could return to a back four with the inclusion of Vestergaard. This could see Ricardo Pereira return to his usual right-back role after scoring from central midfield against Watford, while Vestergaard could make way for teenage sensation Ben Nelson.
The Dane’s partner in crime, Wout Faes, will join him in the middle with the pace of James Justin required at left-back to deal with the threat of Ian Poveda, who impressed in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Birmingham.
The two guaranteed inclusions in Leicester’s midfield are Harry Winks and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, although the third is up for debate. Kasey McAteer started there against Stoke City before Dennis Praet replaced him against Watford and won a penalty. The Belgian could keep his place in midfield.
McAteer was moved out to the left flank on Saturday as £6m man Stephy Mavididi watched on from the bench, however, the Frenchman – who has started in 28 of Leicester’s 31 Championship matches – comes back into the side.
Abdul Fatawu will take up his usual position on the right. He assisted Pereira following an excellent team move at Vicarage road and Patson Daka scored the other goal from the spot, taking his tally to seven goals in 10 matches. He starts once more ahead of Jamie Vardy and Tom Cannon.