Leicester City vs Swansea City. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance31,179.
Saturday 3 February 2018 13:47, UK
Leicester will be without Riyad Mahrez when they host Swansea in the Premier League on Saturday.
Mahrez did not report for training on Thursday and Friday, having seen a move to Manchester City fail to materialise at the end of the transfer window.
The 26-year-old put in a transfer request in the days running up to Deadline Day, and was not part of the Leicester squad for Wednesday's 2-1 defeat at Everton.
"Riyad is not available for this game," said Foxes boss Claude Puel. "All I can say about the situation is that this is the best decision for Leicester, in the best interests of Leicester. It is also the best decision for Riyad.
"It is a tough situation for us to manage but now it is time to move on and keep our focus."
Mahrez has been a key player for Leicester as they have lost just one of their last seven games in all competitions.
Swansea are unbeaten since losing to Tottenham on January 2 and have upset Liverpool and Arsenal in their last two outings.
Leicester will be without Mahrez and also defender Wes Morgan, who is not yet match fit as he returns from a thigh injury.
Swansea will assess Deadline Day signing Andre Ayew as he suffered a hamstring problem during his last few weeks at West Ham. The Swans will determine the results of a scan to see if the returning striker can feature.
Loan signing Andy King is unable to play against his parent club, while Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches remains out with a muscle problem.
Leicester are unbeaten in their last 13 home games against Swansea in all competitions (W10 D3), since a 3-2 defeat in October 1950.
Swansea have lost five of their last six Premier League matches against the Foxes (W1), losing 2-1 earlier this season at Liberty Stadium.
Swansea have won consecutive Premier League games for the first time this season and have picked up 10 points from a possible 15 since Carlos Carvalhal took charge.
Indeed, the Swans have won more points in the five games under Carvalhal (10 - W3 D1 L1) than they did in their previous 17 matches before his arrival (9 - W2 D3 L12).
Leicester City have won 25 points in 16 games since Claude Puel was announced as their manager in October 2017 - more points than any of the other non-big six sides in the Premier League since then.
Jamie Vardy has scored five goals in his last eight games in all competitions, with three of these goals coming from the penalty spot.
Carlos Carvalhal has done brilliantly since his arrival at Swansea. The wins against Liverpool and Arsenal were fantastic but they both came at the Liberty Stadium. I think they'll come unstuck away at Leicester.
The problem for Leicester is they'll miss Riyad Mahrez. How much the Mahrez situation affects them will come down to the players. There are stories doing the rounds suggesting the players have got the hump with him, but I'm not so sure about that. He's not going to play and I don't think he'll want to play. He's going to be a big miss but it won't be too much of a problem in this one.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (6/1 with Sky Bet)
