Blow for Brighton as ‘special’ £54m player set to miss clash against Leicester City

Add as preferred source on Google

Leicester City’s quest to pull off the unthinkable continues this weekend as they head to Brighton in the Premier League.

Leicester broke a 141-year record in the defeat to Newcastle on Monday night after losing an eighth consecutive Premier League game without scoring a goal.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been unable to halt a disastrous run of form, resulting in the Foxes dropping 15 points adrift of safety with just seven matches remaining.

Van Nistelrooy’s future is in doubt heading into the final stretch of the campaign while supporters are wondering where the next goal is coming from.

That isn’t normally an issue for Leicester’s opponents Brighton, who have found the net in each of their last eight matches, although they could now be without one of their most influential players.

• READ MORE: Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans have just done something ‘remarkable’ in Leicester City training

Koaru Mitoma could miss Brighton vs Leicester City

In the Seagulls’ 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend, supporters feared the worst as winger Koaru Mitoma hobbled off the pitch.

The Japanese winger has been in incredible form this term with eight goals and three assists in all competitions, resulting in interest from Saudi Arabia.

Brighton rejected a £54 million bid for the 27-year-old from Al-Nassr in January, and Fabian Hurzeler has dubbed Mitoma as ‘special’.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Hurzeler also confirmed in his pre-match conference that his star winger is a doubt for the match.

“Mitoma is doubtful he will try in training today and we will see,” the German manager said. “It’s a hit on his heel. That is why we have to go day by day. It can change quickly.”

Mitoma’s ability to glide past defenders and his link-up play with Pervis Estupinan have been integral to their brilliant campaign and him being absent could give Leicester one thing less to worry about.

Leicester’s head-to-head record vs Brighton

Even with Mitoma being a doubt for the clash, it’s a hapless task for Leicester to score a goal, never mind win a game of football.

Van Nistelrooy has hinted at a system change with Ricardo Pereira coming into the side on Saturday but even the most optimistic of fans can’t envisage that change yielding a positive result.

In 44 meetings against the Seagulls, Leicester have achieved 19 wins to Brighton’s 15 but sadly, in their previous six outings in this fixture, the hosts have the upper hand.

Leicester have won one of their previous six meetings with Brighton, and that was a penalty shootout win in the Carabao Cup in 2021.

Unfortunately, it would take a miracle for the Foxes to change that narrative on Saturday, with there no hope of them securing a result.