Leicester City vs Hull City. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,971.
Saturday 4 March 2017 15:06, UK
Leicester caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare will look to make it back-to-back wins as Claudio Ranieri’s replacement when Hull City visit the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Foxes moved out of the relegation zone on Monday night with a much improved performance to beat Liverpool 3-1.
However, Leicester have won just three of their 13 Premier League games against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Hull have been in the relegation zone since October 21 but are reducing the deficit under their new boss Marco Silva, who has won eight points in his six league games in charge.
They have had their troubles on the road having not won any of their last 12 Premier League away games (D2 L10) and their only win on the road this season was a 2-0 win at Swansea in August.
Strikers Islam Slimani and Leonardo Ulloa are fit again for Leicester after being included in the side against Liverpool on Monday night.
Ahmed Musa was left out against the Reds for tactical reasons and the striker will hope to be back in Shakespeare's plans for Saturday.
Hull defender Harry Maguire is expected to shake off a knee injury in time.
Maguire needed treatment during last week's home draw against Burnley but played on for the full 90 minutes, while midfielder Sam Clucas is available after serving a one-game ban.
Lazar Markovic is also back in contention after an unspecified problem, but Dieumerci Mbokani will be sidelined for up to six weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury against Burnley. Curtis Davies, Michael Dawson, Evandro, Ryan Mason and Markus Henriksen are still out.
This is the fourth Premier League meeting between the teams, with both sides claiming one victory each in the three previous games (D1).
The Foxes haven't lost to Hull at the King Power Stadium since March 2008, in the season they were relegated from the Championship to League One. They are unbeaten in four since (W2 D2 L0).
Hull City could become the first newly promoted side to do the double over the reigning top-flight champions since Norwich City in 1982/83 (vs Liverpool).
Riyad Mahrez has scored in three of his four appearances against Hull City in all competitions (three goals), though all three were scored away from home. Only against Swansea (4) has he scored more goals for Leicester.
There have been six red cards in the last eight league clashes between the two - three for each side.
Jamie Vardy will be looking to score in three successive appearances in all competitions for Leicester City for the first time since May 2016.
The Foxes haven't won successive Premier League matches since April 2016 - they have the chance to do this on Saturday following their 3-1 success against Liverpool on Monday.
Leicester City have won all six of the Premier League games when they have scored the first goal this season - the only side with a 100 per cent win record when scoring first in the competition this season.
Craig Shakespeare could become only the second Leicester City manager to win their first two Premier League games in charge of the club, after Claudio Ranieri.
Leicester City scored three goals from 13 shots (23.1 per cent) in their 3-1 win over Liverpool in their last game, the same number of goals as they managed in their previous 10 Premier League matches from 106 shots (2.8 per cent).
Which Leicester will turn up? The team that have been dreadful all season or will they build on Monday's excellent result against Liverpool? It's difficult to say really.
Believe it or not, Hull will be a much sterner test for Leicester than Liverpool were. They will sit back with plenty of men behind the ball, leaving no room for Jamie Vardy. It will be a different game for Leicester than what they experienced on Monday.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)
Leicester are Sky Bet's 4/5 favourites for the victory with Hull 100/30 while the draw is priced at 5/2. The Foxes were pushed out from 7/4 to 4/1 to face relegation following Monday Night Football's triumph over Liverpool, while their latest visitors are second favourites to go down at 8/11.
Jamie Vardy heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 while the market is wide open on the visitors' side, with Abel Hernandez a 7/1 shot.
