Leicester vs Burnley Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Leicester lined up on Wednesday for their first ever appearance in Europe. They’ve skipped the traditional path of Europa League football or Champions League qualifying and gone straight to the group stages, and they didn’t disappoint on the big stage.

Club Brugge were expected to provide a tough challenge for the visiting Leicester, but a 5th minute Marc Albrighton goal put the visitors ahead and Riyad Mahrez made it 2-0 before half time. Mahrez added a second for him and a third for Leicester from the penalty spot with half an hour remaining to wrap the game up and give Leicester three points in their first ever outing in Europe.

This performance will have boosted the Leicester team and fans alike enormously. In all honesty, their start to their Premier League title defence hasn’t gone well so far. They lost their curtain raiser to Hull after already being defeated in the Community Shield. They then played a drab goalless draw with Arsenal before getting a narrow 2-1 win against Swansea. Last weekend saw Leicester lose 4-1 at Anfield though, but their midweek performance will erase all that misery.

Burnley have had a bit of a roller-coaster return to the Premier League. They lost a very winnable game in their first outing as they hosted Swansea, losing 1-0 in a poor performance. However, they then switched their defensive brains on and got an excellent 2-0 victory at home to Liverpool, despite having around 20% possession.

Since then things have been less fortunate for Burnley. They were knocked out of the League Cup after extra time against Accrington Stanley and then lost 3-0 at Chelsea in the Premier League. Last weekend saw them pick up a point at home to fellow newcomers Hull, but things aren’t looking overly bright for them at the moment.

This fixture couldn’t have come at a worse time for Burnley. They will now be facing a Leicester side filled to the brim with confidence after their Champions League win, and I expect the hosts to get their title defence back on track on Saturday. Leicester are unbeaten at home in the Premier League in almost a year now, and eight of their last 11 games there have ended in victory. Four of these have seen them win by at least a two goal margin, and with their new found confidence I think odds of 1.950 for a Leicester -1.0 Asian Handicap Win are very good value. I’m also going for a 3-0 correct score prediction at 11/1.