Leicester City vs Arsenal Match Preview

The time for resting is over

Arsene Wenger certainly has a stubborn streak in him and you could almost see him saying ‘I told you so’ when Aaron Ramsey went off injured against Liverpool.

The Frenchman now has a big decision to make – does he bring back his big artillery against the Champions?

Claudio Ranieri’s side had something of a wake-up call when they went down 2-1 at Hull City in Gameweek 1, a team supposedly in turmoil and heavily tipped for relegation. They will be looking to bounce back against the Gunners to get their title defence back on track.

Goal projections – Leicester City 1.41 Arsenal 1.57

Team news & predicted starting line-ups for Leicester City vs Arsenal

Wenger’s decision to start Aaron Ramsey in the opening game was somewhat bewildering. Wales had also gone deep at Euro 2016, reaching the semi-finals like Germany and if there is one area of the field where the Gunners are well-equipped it is their midfield zone.

Laurent Koscielny may return against the Foxes, in an attempt to solidify a back-line that conceded four goals against Liverpool.

Roberth Huth is expected to step back into Leicester City’s defence, alongside club captain Wes Morgan.

Leicester City fantasy player to watch

Jamie Vardy missed a couple of chances he would normally expect to take against Hull City. The England striker did have wrist surgery prior to the start of the season, so he may not be as sharp as he would like to be.

The Foxes have a tough run of fixtures to negotiate, starting with the visit of Arsenal, so fantasy managers will need to decide if Vardy is someone they are happy siding with for the immediate future.

Leicester City team news

Claudio Ranieri has a full squad to choose from, with Robert Huth back from suspension.

The majority of the side picks itself, but there are question marks over three positions – who will partner Jamie Vardy in attack, who will line-up alongside Danny Drinkwater in the engine room and who will play on the left wing?

Predicted starting line-up for Leicester City (4-4-2)

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Arsenal fantasy player to watch

Wenger needs to call on his experienced heads so this looks a great opportunity for Santi Cazorla to step up to the plate.

The 31 year old failed to get on the score-sheet for Arsenal last season, despite scoring seven Premier League goals in the 2014/15 campaign. Arsenal fans will be hoping that he has fully recovered from the knee injury that plagued him last season and that he can rediscover his best form.

Arsenal team news

The season couldn’t have started any worse for Arsene Wenger. If conceding four goals at home on the opening day wasn’t bad enough, the Gunners also lost two further players to injury – Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi.

Mesut Özil, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny could all be involved this weekend, despite lacking match fitness but Danny Welbeck, Gabriel, Per Mertesacker and Carl Jenkinson all miss out. Serge Gnabry is away on Olympic duty and Jack Wilshere is again being assessed, due to an ongoing knee condition.

Predicted starting line-up for Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

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Will Wenger bring back all of his big guns against the Champions?