I’ll be rooting for Leicester City this afternoon against Southampton in their pursuit of Premier League glory but my wallet is with the Saints and it is the visitors that should be supported at the prices.
The Foxes run to the brink of lifting England’s top prize has clearly been quite remarkable and Claudio Ranieri and his players will have had their confidence, and prospects, boosted further by Tottenham’s inability to win at Anfield yesterday.
Spurs’ 1-1 draw versus Liverpool means Leicester would move seven points clear at the summit with victory over the Saints on Super Sunday and, with just six matches remaining, it would undoubtedly represent a significant step forward on their journey to the promised land.
Four 1-0 wins in five top flight fixtures have underlined the unquestionable fighting spirit in this City side but they possess huge quality too and Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante all continued their excellent club form by scoring for England, Algeria and France respectively in the last fortnight.
Narrow triumphs have been the flavour of the month for Ranieri and that trend could well continue against a Southampton side that is usually excellent on the road.
Six clean sheets on their travels away from St. Mary’s this season is a decent return and a win by two goals or more would see the Saints move above Manchester United in the standings ahead of the Red Devils hosting Everton later in the day.
Consecutive defeats inside four days at the end of February, to Bournemouth and Chelsea, are the only reversals suffered by Southampton in 11 outings and it is just Tottenham and the Toffees that have conceded fewer goals away from home than Ronald Koeman’s defence.
I expect this to be a nervy, tight affair with so much on line for the side in blue but Southampton arrive with the pressure off and they have the talent to hurt Leicester.
At a top price 5/4 the hosts are certainly worth opposing and a point, with struggling Sunderland next up, wouldn’t significantly damage their chances of finishing top of the pile anyhow.
2pts Lay Leicester City (vs. Southampton) @ 2.25 (Betfair)
