Leicester vs Sunderland Betting Tips

It has been an eventful couple of years in the East Midlands. After romping to the Championship title two years ago, Leicester looked out of their depth for much of their first season back in the top flight before Nigel Pearson’s side launched a dramatic late survival bid, ultimately finishing 6 points clear of the drop-zone after a remarkable winning run.

However the summer has seen Pearson depart in controversial circumstances and veteran manager Claudio Ranieri replace him. The Italian left the Greek job earlier in the year following a defeat to among others the Faroe Islands but impressed many with his humility and more often than not his results during his spell in charge of Chelsea a decade ago.

Whether he is the right man for Leicester remains to be seen but the early signs have been reasonably encouraging with the Foxes winning 4 of their 5 pre-season matches although the opposition was all from the lower leagues. The loss of the inspirational Esteban Cambiasso will have come as a blow though and they may be seeking more arrivals before the end of the month.

Sunderland also had an interesting summer with Dick Advocat, who steered them to safety last term, going back on his original decision not to stay at the club. The Dutchman will lead Sunderland again this term and will be aiming to make the end of the season, a feat rarely achieved by recent Sunderland bosses.

The Mackems are perennial strugglers now despite numerous managerial comings and goings and it could be a similar story this year. They didn’t have a great pre-season although did win 1-0 at Hannover last time out and will be looking to build on the defensive steel that they displayed at the end of last year when they kept clean sheets in 3 of their last 4 games.

The arrival of the likes of Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Coates should aid that while Jeremain Lens arrived for big money from Dynamo Kiev and should add a bit of threat at the other end.

There were no goals in either meeting between the sides last season and it is likely to be another low scoring affair here as both sides feel their way into the new season. Backing there to be under 2.5 goals and both teams not to score at 11/10 surely represents good value.