Leicester City Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Brighton

Leicester City Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Brighton image

Having blown a lead late on against Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League season, Leicester City are looking to get their first points on the board.

Craig Shakespeare's side are looking to restablish themselves at the top of the table after a disappointing defence of their title in 2016-17, and the Foxes know their home form will be vital.

The first visitors to the King Power Stadium this time around are newly-promoted Brighton & Hove Albion, who themselves are also looking to recover from an opening day defeat.


LEICESTER CITY INJURIES


Shakespeare will be hopeful that Danny Drinkwater has shaken off the thigh strain that kept him out of the Arsenal defeat, but fellow midfielder Vicente Iborra is likely to be out for another week with a groin problem.

Elsewhere Robert Huth is still not ready to return after recovering from an ankle problem, though no further problems have been reported ahead of Saturday's clash.

Danny Drinkwater Leicester City


LEICESTER CITY SUSPENSIONS


No players from either side are suspended for the opening match of the season.

Leicester v Brighton Dabblebet


POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


The potential return of Drinkwater will likely give Shakespeare his only selection headache, particularly with the England international being heavily linked with a move to Chelsea.

Matty James could be prefered in midfield to Drinkwater after impressing against Arsenal while Harry Maguire will continue alongside Wes Morgan at the heart of the Foxes defence.

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Kelechi Iheanacho, meanwhile, may again have to make do with a place on the bench after Shinji Okazaki proved his worth with a goal at the Emirates Stadium.

Leicester City XI GFX


BRIGHTON TEAM NEWS


Izzy Brown's debut was cut short as he limped off with a hamstring injury against Manchester City, and the Chelsea loanee could be set for a spell on the sidelines.

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Beram Kayal (broken leg) and Sam Baldock (calf) are longer term absentees for Chris Hughton's side.

Izzy Brown Brighton


BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Leicester City are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League home fixtures against newly-promoted sides, winning seven and drawing five since a 0-5 loss to Bolton in August 2001.

  • Since the start of the 2014-15 season, only one Englishman (James Milner, 21) has provided more Premier League assists than Jamie Vardy (19).

  • Brighton forward Anthony Knockaert made 109 competitive appearances for Leicester City, scoring 16 goals overall. He failed to score in any of his nine Premier League apps for the Foxes, however.

  • These two sides last met in the 2013-14 season in which Leicester won the Championship, with the Foxes losing both clashes, equating to a third of their total defeats in that campaign.


TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME


The match isn't being televised in the UK and the highlights will be first shown on BBC's Match of the Day from 22:25 on Saturday. The game kicks off at 15:00 BST.