Leicester vs Wolves Match Preview: Classic Encounter, Team News, Predictions & More

Leicester play host to Wolves at the King Power Stadium in their second Premier League match of the 2018/19 season on Saturday afternoon.

The Foxes began their campaign with a narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, but there were plenty of positives to take away from the match. Claude Puel's men enjoyed dominant spells throughout the match and were somewhat unfortunate not to pick up at least a point.

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Wolves played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in their opener with Everton and proved that they are capable of mixing it in the Premier League. However, they did play against 10 men for the majority of the match which means that it was by no means a brilliant result.

It promises to be an interesting clash and with both teams eyeing a top ten finish this season, and the result could have huge implications further down the line.

Classic Encounter

It has been 14 years since Leicester and Wolves were both in the Premier League at the same time. The pair were both relegated during the 2003/04 season, but they played out an absolute belter at Molineux in October 2003.

Wolves were able to overturn a three goal deficit to remarkably win the match 4-3 in what was one of the most exciting matches of the season.

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Leicester got off to a flyer on the first half courtesy of a brace from Les Ferdinand in the first 15 minutes. The home side looked down and out of the match when Riccy Scimeca latched on to a long range pass from Ferdinand to grab Leicester's third.

But Wolves got their act together in the second 45 minutes. Colin Cameron scored a brace of his own before Alex Rae levelled the match in the 68th minute. Henri Camara then scored from close range right at the death to cap off an incredible match.

Key Battle

Harry Maguire vs Raul Jimenez

It was a little surprising to see Harry Maguire lining up in a Leicester shirt last Friday given the fact that he was the subject of a pursuit from none other than Manchester United. He looked very impressive during the defeat last Saturday and it looked as though the transfer saga has no effect on his performance.

He was dominant in the air and very comfortable with the ball at his feet, just as he was at the World Cup for England. He'll have to be at his best to deal with Wolves' new striker Raul Jimenez.

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The Mexican striker hasn't enjoyed a prolific career thus far, but he looked very impressive on the opening weekend up top for Nuno Espirito Santo's men. He's certainly a physical presence and he caused the Everton defence all sorts of problems during the draw last Saturday and he scored adecent header. Maguire may have his work cut out dealing with the 27-year-old.

Team News

Leicester are currently without a handful of first team players who are out through injury. Matty James and Shinji Okazaki are both still out as they look to recover from injuries they picked up before the start of the season. 

New signing Caglar Soyuncu has now joined up with the team but he won't feature as he looks to recover from an injury he is currently nursing. One change from last weeks starting XI could see a debut for Jonny Evans, at the expense of Wes Morgan.

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Wolves also have a few injury concerns and it looks as though they will be without both Ivan Cavaleiro and new signing Adama Traore. That should leave the right wing position open to Helder Costa, who started in the draw with Everton. 

Predicted Lineups

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chillwell, Ndidi, Silva, Ghezzal, Maddison, Gray, Vardy

Wolves (3-4-3): Patricio, Coady, Boly, Bennett, Doherty, Jonny, Neves, Moutinho, Costa, Jota, Jimenez

Predictions

It was a promising opening weekend for both teams, but neither picked up a result which reflected their performances. 

On balance you would have to say that the home side are narrow favourites for this one given the fact that Wolves weren't able to defeat Everton, despite them having a man advantage for the majority of the game. They also relied on individual brilliance from their star man Ruben Neves to level the tie on two separate occasions.

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Leicester were able to string together some decent spells of possession, which was impressive given the fact that they were playing away from home at Old Trafford. With Jamie Vardy likely to come in up top, they'll have the cutting edge they were lacking for the majority of the match against United.

It will certainly be tight, but the Foxes may just have the edge in this one.

Prediction: Leicester 1-0 Wolves