Leicester v West Brom preview: N'Golo Kante ruled out with hamstring injury
Wednesday 2 March 2016 08:00, UK
Leicester have been dealt a huge blow ahead of Tuesday night's Premier League visit of West Brom, with N'Golo Kante ruled out for two weeks.
It seemed the Foxes were about to slip up and let their rivals in at the weekend, as they headed into the final few minutes goalless at home to lowly Norwich.
However, once again they dug deep and grabbed a late, late winner through Leonardo Ulloa - proving they don't just rely on Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez for their goals.
Claudio Ranieri's men remarkably still sit two points clear at the top, with some winnable games to come, but a rejuvenated West Brom side will be no pushovers at the King Power Stadium.
Victory over Palace in the Saturday Night Football was the Baggies' second in a row, helping them pull clear of the drop zone.
And, boasting a fine record against Leicester, Tony Pulis will fancy his side's chances of putting a dent in the Foxes' incredible title bid.
Team news
Kante has been ruled out of Leicester's next two games with a hamstring injury. The midfielder came off in the second half of Saturday's victory over Norwich and boss Claudio Ranieri does not expect to have him available to face West Brom on Tuesday or Watford on Saturday.
Right-back Danny Simpson is available against Albion after missing the win over the Canaries following his red card against Arsenal, but Daniel Amartey could continue in defence after his debut at the weekend.
Chris Brunt will miss the trip to Leicester due to the knee injury he sustained at the weekend.
Brunt was carried from the pitch on a stretcher after falling awkwardly during the win over Crystal Palace. The midfielder, who has been filling in as a defender, will undergo a scan on Tuesday to help determine the severity of the problem.
Baggies boss Tony Pulis will hope Jonny Evans can recover from his hamstring injury and replace Brunt at left-back, but Callum McManaman (ankle) and James Morrison (hamstring) remain out.
Merson's prediction (15/2 with Sky Bet)
As Norwich showed on Saturday, every game will be a hard game for Leicester from now until the end of the season. If you watched West Brom for the first 20 minutes of their match with Palace on Saturday, you'd think they could be a real match for Leicester - but then you watch the last 20 minutes and it's a different story. You know Tony Pulis will set West Brom up well and they will put 10 men behind the ball and they will be phenomenal at set plays. They could upset Leicester, but I'm going to back the league leaders to get a hard-fought and very important three points. The gap between the two sides in the table could show in the end.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
Opta stats
West Bromwich Albion's win at Everton on their last away trip ended a run of seven games on the road without a victory (D3 L4).
Seven of the last eight meetings between these two sides in all competitions have ended as away wins.
The Baggies are unbeaten in their last six away trips to Leicester (W5 D1 L0).
In the last two matches between the Foxes and West Brom, the Baggies have scored first only to lose 2-3.
WBA will be looking to win three successive Premier League games in a row for the first time since November 2012 and for the first time in the competition under Tony Pulis.
Leicester City have only made 22 changes to their starting XI in Premier League games (combined) this season; at least 14 fewer than any other club.
Ten of the last 12 teams to be top of the Premier League on March 1 (at the end of the day) have gone on to win the title that season.
Leicester City have now gone 463 minutes since they last conceded on home soil in the Premier League.
The Foxes have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League home games (W11 D4 L1).
West Bromwich Albion have attempted a league-low 82 shots on target in the Premier League this season.
Betting
Leicester are 8/13 to maintain their Premier League charge with a victory over West Brom (19/4), while a draw is priced at 11/4. The Foxes' dramatic victory over Norwich has seen them reinstalled as 15/8 favourites for the title, having started the season as 5,000/1 outsiders, with Tottenham narrowly behind at 2/1 while Arsenal have drifted out to 11/4 after losing ground on the top two. Jamie Vardy heads the first goalscorer betting at 3/1 while Salomon Rondon and Saido Berahino share favouritism from the Baggies' side of the betting at 17/2 apiece.
