PL2 Preview: Foxes Braced For Arsenal Trip
The Foxes head into the clash on the back of a 3-1 success over West Ham United on Monday evening, courtesy of goals from Kelechi Iheanacho, Vicente Iborra and George Thomas.
Their last visit to Meadow Park, the home of Boreham Wood FC, was an unhappy one for Steve Beaglehole’s men, however, with the Gunners emerging as 3-0 victors back in December 2016.
Ahead of City’s latest Premier League 2 outing, here’s all you need to know…
Form guide
While Leicester go into the clash on a good run of form (LWDW), Arsenal sit three places above them, in second, with nine points from the opening four matches of the new season.
On the opening day, the Gunners returned from a clash at Derby County with a 3-2 victory, followed up shortly by a 4-3 success over Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.
Despite suffering a frustrating 2-1 defeat to early pacesetters Liverpool, Steve Gatting’s men got back on track last time around with a comfortable 2-0 win over Manchester United.
Previous encounter
Last December, City fell to defeat for the first time in six Premier League 2 outings with a 3-0 loss to Arsenal at Meadow Park.
The Gunners prevailed in Hertfordshire courtesy of Eddie Nketiah’s hat-trick, following successive wins for the Foxes against Tottenham Hotspur, Reading and Derby.
Layton Ndukwu scored this beauty for #lcfcu23 against Arsenal this past weekend...👌 pic.twitter.com/vsSzRog0eY
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 20, 2017
Beaglehole’s men made amends in the return fixture, above, as Josh Knight and Layton Ndukwu struck at Holmes Park to secure a crucial three points just two months later.
One to watch
Leicester know all about the talents of Nketiah, Arsenal’s key man up front.
The north Londoners snapped up the 18-year-old after he was released by Chelsea in the summer of 2015, quickly offering him a scholarship at Emirates Stadium.
Nketiah scored a hat-trick against the Foxes last term and he has already featured on the scoresheet three times this season, twice against Manchester City and once at Derby.
Beaglehole’s preview
Beaglehole Reflects On Glittering Performance
Steve Beaglehole spoke to LCFC TV after his side's Premier League 2 victory against West Ham at King Power Stadium.
Speaking following the 3-1 success over West Ham on Monday, Beaglehole told LCFC TV: “I’d like to see what happened the year before last, when we won 4-0. We’re capable of that.
“There is no easy game in this league. It is difficult to pick up points and you have to pick them up when you can, as we did against West Ham.
“Because of that result, it takes the pressure off. If we get a clean sheet, I’ll be delighted. If we can go there and not get beat, it will have been a really good week.”
Foxes on a roll
City prepare for this Friday’s encounter while riding the wave of optimism created by a resounding victory over West Ham at King Power Stadium.
Iheanacho broke the deadlock after 45 minutes before efforts from Iborra and Thomas. Antonio Martinez struck in the 76th minute for the visitors.
While Leicester had a host of first-teamers among their ranks, including Eldin Jakupović, Robert Huth and Yohan Benalouane, it was the performances of Beaglehole’s youngsters that impressed most.