Premier League preview and odds: Middlesbrough vs Leicester City

Published on: 01/01/2017

Premier League preview and odds: Middlesbrough vs Leicester City

January 02, 2016 12:30pm - Riverside Stadium

Referee: R. Madley

Premier League

Middlesbrough will look to break a two-game losing streak when they host reigning Premier League champions Leicester City at the Riverside Stadium on Monday. The visitors themselves will arrive in the northeast still searching for their first away win of the season.

Four defeats in last five matches for Boro

As a newly-promoted side, Middlesbrough`s main ambition will be to retain their top-flight status and so far, they have managed to keep themselves clear of danger. However, a recent run of four defeats in five games and seen them slip ever closer towards the relegation places.

Boro`s recent record on home soil has been decent with three wins in their last five, with the only defeats coming against Chelsea and Liverpool. They come into on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United, in which they led with five minutes to go before conceding twice in a minute.

Meanwhile, opponents Leicester City are just two points above Boro and are also seeking to evade the looming shadow of relegation. After leading the club to Premier League glory last season, Claudio Ranieri will not want to be remembered as the man who then led the club to a league title and relegation in consecutive seasons.

The Foxes have yet to win away from home and that has contributed massively to their spectacular fall from grace. They have lost seven of their nine outings games so far, with their only points coming from a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur and a 2-2 stalemate against Stoke City, in which they fought back from two goals down to salvage a point.

Since then, the East Midlands side lost at home for just the second time this season when they fell 0-2 to Everton, before bouncing back with 1-0 win over West Ham, also on home soil.

Team news

The home side will have to make do without the services of Viktor Fischer, who is out with a knee problem.

Meanwhile, the visitors are still without the suspended Jamie Vardy.

Recent form (League):

Middlesbrough: LLWLL

Leicester City: WLDLW

Betting odds and tips

With no wins to their name, it is hard to make a case for Leicester City when they are playing away from home. However, their last five road trips have all produced tight games and there have been definite signs of improvement from Ranieri`s men. The main concern for the Foxes will be the absence of Jamie Vardy, who is serving the last game of his suspension.

Middlesbrough`s home form has improved since they broke their winless streak at the end of October. Since then, they have beaten AFC Bournemouth, Hull City and Swansea City in that time. They also restricted leaders Chelsea to a 0-1 score-line.

With all things considered, the draw looks like the best bet for this game and can be backed at a best price of 11/5.

You can back the Draw at 11/5 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 01/01/2017

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (01/01/2017 14:51:49) but are subject to change.