Leeds United welcome Leicester City to Elland Road on Friday night as both sides look to strengthen their respective automatic promotion bids.
With 33 matches in the books, the Foxes find themselves nine points clear of second-placed Leeds, who sit level on points with third-placed Ipswich Town.
A win for the hosts would see them move to within six points of the frontrunners, but a win for the visitors would see them open up a 12-point lead at the summit.
Leeds head into Friday’s showdown on the back of a 2-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle, extending their winning streak to five matches across all competitions.
Last time at Leeds 📽️#LEELEI pic.twitter.com/ImXXx9alcW— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 20, 2024
Last time at Leeds 📽️#LEELEI pic.twitter.com/ImXXx9alcW
When you look at the bigger picture, Daniel Farke’s side have won each of their last eight Championship clashes, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
Remarkably, Leeds have avoided defeat in each of their 16 home league games this season, winning 12 of the previous 13 to remain in the hunt for automatic promotion.
Trends also show that Leeds have scored 32 goals in their last 13 league encounters at Elland Road, averaging 2.5 goals per game during that period.
Meanwhile, Leicester suffered a 2-1 defeat against Middlesbrough last time out, despite racking up 72% possession and 24 shots on home soil.
It is worth noting, however, that Enzo Maresca’s men have lost just five of their 33 Championship clashes this season, picking up 25 wins and three draws along the way.
On top of that, the Foxes boast the best offensive record and the joint-best defensive record in the division, averaging 2.1 goals per game in the league this term.
Having won 12 of their 16 away league outings in 2023-24 – suffering only two defeats in the process – Leicester will be confident of picking up another positive result on the road.
Head-to-head: Leeds won the reverse fixture 1-0 at the King Power Stadium back in November, despite seeing just 34% of the ball on that occasion.
That said, Leicester have lost just one of their previous five meetings with Leeds across all competitions, securing a couple of clean-sheet victories in 2022.
Team news: Leeds have several key players missing through injury, including Patrick Bamford, Sam Byram, Stuart Dallas and Pascal Struijk.
On the flip side, Leicester’s sole injury absentee is Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who has been sidelined since December due to a muscle problem.
Friday’s showdown is destined to be an entertaining affair between the top two teams in the Championship, with plenty of goals expected.
Forebet predicts that Leeds United and Leicester City will combine for over 4.5 goals, with the Foxes claiming all three points on this occasion.