Leicester were expected to again be top-four challengers in the Premier League this season, but they have been well short of that standard in 2021-22, currently sitting down in 10th ahead of their today’s EPL fixture with Manchester United at the Old Trafford.
Brendan Rodgers’s side entered the international break off the back of a 2-1 win over Brentford in the Premier League, with Timothy Castagne and James Maddison on the scoresheet, and they will be bidding to record their 11th Premier League victory of the campaign this weekend.
Though Leicester have the fourth-worst away record in the Premier League this season and with the pair of two key players in Wilfred Ndidi and James Vardy out injured, Rodgers will as usual be counting on his fit players including Super Eagles duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman who will hope to vent the frustration of missing out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the Red Devils.
Meanwhile in Italy, the clash between Atalanta and Napoli might be one of the most important for the entire Serie A title race; and maybe even more influential than Juventus vs. Inter Milan matchup.
The team from Naples is second in the standings, three points behind AC Milan, while Atalanta sits sixth with 51 points, and with the game in hand. La Dea hopes to reach one of the top four places in the table, which leads to the UEFA Champions League. So, we will have a lot of action at Gewiss Stadium, because both teams need to win.
Napoli suffered a hard setback against AC Milan early in March, losing at home, 0-1. If it weren’t for that slip, they would hold the top spot now. However, Partenopei recovered quickly, and had two wins in a row with the same result – 2-1, one on the road in Verona and the other at home against Udinese with the Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen accounting for the four goals.
But Osimhen is ineligible for the game after he picked up his fifth booking of the season in the last fixture against Udinese before the international break.
The Nigerian has 15 goals from 25 games in all competitions and having just returned from the Super Eagles’ ill-fated 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign, his suspension from the tie will no doubt hurts knowing that being thrust into action straightaway would have gradually wiped off the disappointment of the World Cup non qualification.
Elsewhere, tomorrow brings a potential title decider in Scotland, as Rangers face Celtic at Ibrox looking for a win to draw level on points with their fierce rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership.