Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
All eyes will be on King Power Stadium when Leicester City and PSV face each other in the Conference League quarter-finals, first leg. The Foxes set up a meeting with PSV by eliminating Rennes in the last 16, and the bookies see them as favourites to win Thursday’s clash as well. Even though all Ndidi, Thomas, Vardy, and Ward remain in the recovery room, home win should be considered as Brendan Rodgers’ men have turned their King Power Stadium into a real fortress.
PSV, on the other hand, head into the match following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Twente. Roger Schmidt’s troops, though, are fully focused on the Eredivisie title race, which is probably the main reason why we are going to put our money on the Premier League side. All Fofana, Kreekels, Mwene, Sambo, Thomas, and van de Blaak are injured for the visiting side.
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 (PSV):
Based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, PSV is a professional football club competing the top flight of the Dutch football, Eredivisie. PSV play their home games at the Phillips Stadium which can accommodate 35,000 people. Over the course of its 100-year-old history, PSV has become one of the country’s Big Three clubs that has dominated Eredivisie along with Ajax and Feyenoord.
Known as a stepping stone for future world-class stars, PSV propelled the likes of Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Romario, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and most recently Arjen Robben. The Boeren (Peasants) as they call themselves take pride in Eindhoven’s status of being a provincial city and never hide their Brabantian heritage which allow them to enjoy their uniqueness in the company of more prominent clubs from Dutch big cities.
The Peasants boast 23 domestic league titles and 9 KNVB Cup trophies. They have also managed two major European titles – European Cup in 1987-88 and UEFA Cup in 1977-78.