Southampton vs Leicester City. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance29,925.
Saturday 25 August 2018 14:51, UK
Mohamed Elyounoussi is in line to return for Southampton when they host Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday.
The summer signing missed last weekend's trip to Everton through injury after coming on as a 56th-minute substitute in the opening weekend draw with Burnley.
Manager Mark Hughes confirmed that there are more assessments to be made but Elyounoussi is expected to be in the squad.
"Elyounoussi has trained today, so we're hopeful he could be an option for us at the weekend. Obviously, he needs to have a good day tomorrow in terms of no reaction from the work he's done today. We don't anticipate he will have any problem," he said.
"Leicester are probably the club that gain more points on the road than most. They're a very accomplished counter-attacking team and it's very difficult to go up against them. You want to be on the front foot, but you've always got to be mindful of the threat they have on the break."
The Foxes will be without star striker Jamie Vardy as he begins a three-match ban following a straight red card for a tackle on Wolves defender Matt Doherty last weekend.
Manager Claude Puel said: "Jamie is a valuable player for us. We know his importance to the team but we have to move on and to make a good confidence in other players.
"It is a good opportunity for other players to show their attributes, like Iheanacho, Gray and perhaps Okazaki if he can come back with a good fitness. The most important thing is to have options and have a lot of players available to continue the work."
Alongside Elyounoussi, fellow summer recruit Jannik Vestergaard will also come back into the squad after he also missed the Everton game after picking up an illness.
Shinji Okazaki could return for Leicester, but Matty James and recent signing Caglar Soyuncu will not feature, with the latter continuing his rehabilitation from a pre-existing injury.
Southampton lost this fixture 1-4 last season - their first top-flight home defeat vs Leicester since April 2000, and their heaviest home loss against them since October 1967 (1-5).
Leicester have never won back-to-back away league matches at Southampton - this is their 40th visit there (W4 D14 L21 previously).
Southampton have won just two of their 10 Premier League games under Mark Hughes, with five of these games ending in defeat (D3). Since their return to the top flight in 2012, the only manager to win fewer games in his first 10 Premier League games in charge of Southampton is Nigel Adkins (one).
Claude Puel is unbeaten in this fixture in the Premier League, avoiding defeat as Southampton manager in 2016-17 (W1 D1) and Leicester manager in 2017-18 (W1 D1).
Leicester City have lost their last four away games in the Premier League. They last endured a longer losing away run in the competition between September and December 2014 (seven defeats), which also included a 0-2 defeat at Southampton.
Leicester City will be without the suspended Jamie Vardy - since the start of last season, Vardy has scored 12 away Premier League goals, double that of any other player at the club.
Danny Ings, who scored on his first start last time out versus Everton, is looking to become just the fourth player to score in his first two Premier League starts for Southampton after Ronnie Ekelund, Peter Crouch and Manolo Gabbiadini.
Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has scored more Premier League goals versus Southampton than he has against any other side (three in four appearances).
Leicester were fortunate in the other game, and don't have Jamie Vardy.
I thought Danny Ings was good for Southampton against Everton, and could have scored a couple. I fancy them to win this, even though they are away from home.
It was still a bad result for Saints at Everton, but the overall performance was decent. Ings looked lively, and they had some good chances. I need to see more from them but I expect them to win this.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (9/1 with Sky Bet)
