Our prediction for this Europa League match:
After dropping two points in a 1-1 draw with Spartak Moscow, Leicester City will look to return to winning ways in the Europa League group stages when they host Legia to their King Power Stadium on Thursday evening. The Foxes face a must-win situation, and they are likely to go all guns blazing at the Poles. Patson Daka is widely expected to start this time out, while Fofana, Justin, and Tielemans should all miss out with injuries.
Legia, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 4-1 loss to Napoli. Considering that Leicester City are desperate to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Chelsea, we predict that the visitors are going to return to Warsaw empty-handed. When the two teams met in Poland earlier in the process Legia defeated Leicester 1-0, meaning that the hosts are hungry for revenge.
Highlighted Player (Jamie Vardy):
Spending his early career playing no-league football, Jamie Vardy made the headlines when he joined Leicester City in a £1 million deal in 2012, but little did he know that he would go on to become a genuine Premier League star just three years later.
The experienced forward helped the Foxes gain promotion to the elite division and then score more than 20 goals as they mounted an unlikely title bid, earning worldwide acclaim as well as a place in the England squad. Vardy went on to score his first two goals for the Three Lions in March 2016 friendlies, with his back-heel goal against Germany in Berlin seeing him instantly become a fans’ favourite.
Over the years, Vardy has earned a reputation as a striker who never gives up and can be a real menace for opposition defenders, but his excellent goalscoring record and good link-up play are enough to suggest he can be described as a mix of old-style pacey forwards and modern strikers.
Highlighted Team (Legia):
Legia is a football club based in Warsaw and it is one of the most successful sides in Polish history. The Militarians – as they are commonly referred to in Poland – have won 11 Ekstraklasa Championship title, while they also hold the record-18 Polish Cup trophies and four Polish SuperCup matches.
Founded as the main official football club of the Polish Army, Legia Warsaw are playing theirhome matches at the Polish Army Stadium which can accommodate 31,000 people. Legia have endured mixed fortunes at the international scene with the Polish giants regularly participating in Europa League, with four group inclusions over the last six years. The Militarians headed into the 2016-17 season feeling buoyed and motivated having succeeded in ending the 20-year Champions League wait, becoming the first Polish team to take part in Europe’s elite competition over the last two decades.
The 3-1 aggregate playoff victory over Irish Dundalk earned them a place in the final showpiece with Legia being thrown into a heavy mix with the likes of Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund and European champions Real Madrid.