Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion Prediction: Seagulls to respond

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy will be looking to win his second Premier League game in charge of the Foxes when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the King Power Stadium on Sunday (14:00). They won 3-1 at home to West Ham United on Tuesday, despite riding their luck at times.

Brighton were made to pay for mistakes in their last outing as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Fulham, so they will look for a response here. Read on for my Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction, accompanied by the latest match odds and team news.

Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion Odds

Leicester are 18/5 to claim their third home win of the season, which gives them a theoretical chance of 21.7%. Brighton are priced at 8/11 to come away with the three points, having won three games on the road already this season. This gives the Seagulls an implied probability of 57.9%.

The draw is available at 3/1 (25%).

Both teams to score is on offer at 4/7, and it has landed in five of Brighton's seven away trips to date in the top flight. Over 2.5 goals has struck in four of Leicester's seven clashes at the King Power, and is valued at 4/7 for Sunday.

Danny Welbeck has scored six times in the league for Brighton and he is 7/4 to open the scoring in Leicestershire. Jamie Vardy has five for the Foxes and he is priced at 15/2 to open the scoring in this contest.

Football Odds

Team News

Facundo Buonanotte is going to be a big miss for Leicester on Sunday as he is unable to face his parent club as per the terms of his loan agreement. So we could see Stephy Mavididi earn a rare start for the hosts, and he will be eager to impress the new boss.

He will be competing with Jordan Ayew for that attacking spot, though, and his teammate has made more of his appearances of late. Bilal El Khannous would be expected to move centrally and play where Buonanotte has been operating for the Foxes. Kasey McAteer should keep his place on the right flank.

Veteran Vardy is expected to lead the line once again, while Wifred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare should continue in the middle of the park.

Harry Winks is still fighting to overcome a hamstring problem, while Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu are both sidelined until March and August next year respectively.

Van Nistelrooy was quick to remove centre-back Wout Faes from the starting XI after a 13-month run in the side, so Jannik Vestergaard and Conor Coady are set to maintain their partnership against the Seagulls.

For Brighton, striker Welbeck was absent against Fulham and he will be monitored closely to see if he can return to the squad on Sunday. Boss Fabian Hurzeler still has quite a few injuries to contend with as Jack Hinshelwood, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Adam Webster and Solly March are all out of action.

The Brighton gaffer could be tempted to make a switch between the posts after goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen's mistake led to Fulham's opener the other night. If he decides to punish the Dutchman, Jason Steele could return to the lineup.

After being named on the bench against the Cottagers, the likes of Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter will be hoping for recalls to the side. That could depend on whether Brighton revert to a back four, in which case we could also see Tariq Lamptey return on the right side of the back line.

This could also see one of the centre-halves demoted down to the bench, and it would most likely be one of Igor Julio or Lewis Dunk. Matt O'Riley played further forward in midweek but he could return to a deeper role on Sunday, potentially alongside Mats Wieffer.

Brighton and both teams to score @ 2/1

Brighton were left to rue lapses in concentration in their defeat to Fulham, but the 3-1 scoreline flattered the Cottagers. The Seagulls actually played quite well but were their own worst enemy at times. Hurzeler will demand an immediate response against the Foxes.

Van Nistelrooy may have won his first game but he would probably admit that his team rode their luck at times, and he will be thankful for West Ham's woeful finishing.

They still managed to score three goals, though, which will give them confidence against a Brighton side who struggle for clean sheets. You have to go back to October for the Seagulls' last clean sheet in the league - a 1-0 win at Newcastle United.

BTTS has been a winning selection in their last six matches in the top flight, while it has struck in all seven of Leicester's fixtures at the King Power this term. Both teams are susceptible to conceding goals so there should be good entertainment on offer in this one, but I do think Brighton are worth backing to get back to winning ways here.

Leicester conceded a lot of shots (31) against the Hammers. If they afford even a fraction of that against Brighton, I think they will be punished.

Jamie Vardy anytime goalscorer @ 9/4

I may not be expecting another win for the Foxes and Van Nistelrooy but I can see their veteran forward getting on the scoresheet again. Vardy is continuing to show that he is still up to the challenge of the Premier League at the ripe old age of 37.

He will have been given a confidence boost from his goal against West Ham last time out, and he will be relishing to face a Brighton back line that is prone to errors, this includes shot-stopper Verbruggen after his antics on Thursday.

The striker boasts a decent record against the visitors in the top flight, having netted six goals against them in 11 appearances. I think he can be a thorn in the Seagulls' side once again this weekend and collect his sixth goal of the campaign.

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