Leicester vs Southampton predictions: Lively clash between relegated pair expected
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- Leicester were relegated on April 20
- Southampton's fate was sealed a fortnight earlier
- Recommended bet: Over 3.5 goals
It has been a Premier League campaign to forget for both Leicester and Southampton as they have been consigned to relegation already but at least they get the chance to lay down an early marker for next season in the Championship when they meet in the East Midlands on Saturday.
Saints will finish bottom and are still trying to pick up another point that would see them edge above their current total and Derby County's dismal record low points Premier League total of 11 across a season.
However, they may struggle to find it against Leicester, who will want to finally give some of their fans something to cheer about after a terrible second half of the season.
Team news
Leicester first-choice keeper Mads Hermansen has had a groin operation which means he will miss the rest of this season, so Jakub Stolarczyk is set to start in goal against Saints.
Facundo Buonanotte, Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu have all also been ruled out of Saturday's clash, while Ricardo Pereira and Bobby De Cordova-Reid are major doubts for the hosts.
Southampton, meanwhile, remain without Charlie Taylor, Albert Gronbaek, Ryan Fraser and Juan Larios but Paul Onuachu is closing in on a return to action and could be back in the squad this weekend.
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The stats
The two teams have only managed six Premier League wins between them this season.
Leicester have scored two more goals and conceded four fewer than Southampton.
Saints have the worst away record in the division — with just six points picked up all season so far.
The earlier meeting between them at St Mary's ended 3-2 to Leicester.
The last three match-ups have all featured over four goals in total.
Prediction
Even though goals have been hard to find for both teams this season, the fact that two of the poorest sides meet in early May could act as a bit of a leveller and both can at least play with plenty of freedom as they aim to show their opponents what to expect next season back in the gruelling Championship.
In that regard, we might finally see the Foxes score at home for the first time in nine games as they look to expose a Saints defence that has shipped a division-high 80 goals this season.
Leicester have failed to find the back of the net in all but one of their last 10 games — the exception being an unexpected 2-2 draw at Brighton last month — so the omens are not good that Ruud van Nistelrooy's men will finally cut loose in an attacking sense.
However, Saturday's opponents must be taken into account. Saints are clearly one of the worst Premier League teams in recent memory, but we should also expect to see the visitors try and take the game to the hosts as they desperately aim to avoid ending what has been a wretched campaign on the same points total — a miserly 11 — that the Rams eked out way back in the 2007-08 campaign.
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