Leicester City vs Aston Villa Odds
| Leicester City Odds | +350 |
| Aston Villa Odds | +-138 |
| Draw | +240 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -150 / +120 |
Searching for their first win since the 2022/2023 Premier League season, Leicester City take on Aston Villa at the King Power this weekend.
Struggling to find his footing with his new side, Steve Cooper looks to get his fan-favorite Foxes back on track after a tough loss at Craven Cottage last weekend.
Unai Emery and the Villains were tested last weekend by the runners-up of the previous season, Arsenal.
Let’s get into my preview for Aston Villa vs Leicester City, kicking off at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Leicester City
With a promising beginning to the season, securing a draw against Tottenham, it seemed to be a bright beginning for Leicester in their first season back in the Premier League since 2023. Unfortunately, due to a lack of real offensive threat, the Foxes were handed their first loss of the season to Fulham last weekend.
In that match against Fulham, there appeared to be a lack of creativity and flow through the offense. Leicester were able to fire off 10 shots, but only one of them found the back of the net. Of those 10 shots, six of them came off of set pieces, with their equalizer coming off of a Wout Faes header from a corner. It seems as if Leicester’s chances through open play this season will come sparingly as Steve Cooper tries to rebuild his offense with only a matter of hours remaining in the summer transfer window.
Adding to this transfer drama, Faes recently submitted a transfer request which is obviously a huge pain for Cooper, as Leicester’s limited defensive options become even more scarce. On the upside, Leicester have brought in some names in the midfield and offensive side with Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp being brought in, as well as Stephy Mavididi. All three of these players were able to make their debut in a 4-0 win against Tranmere Rovers in the second round of the EFL Cup this past Tuesday.
Aston Villa
Despite their 2-0 loss at the Emirates this past weekend, I thought Villa looked fairly decent. Ollie Watkins, however, hasn’t been playing at the level we’re used to seeing from him. Although David Raya did have a phenomenal game in goal, Watkins needs to be capitalizing on some of these chances, as he’s still looking to get his first goal of the season. Thankfully for Villa, they are one of the best teams in the league on the road, especially under Unai Emery.
We’ve already gotten to see that in their first game of the season against West Ham. Even after West Ham outfitted their attack with big signings in Niclas Fulkrug and Crysencio Summerville, they strengthened their defense with Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Jean-Clair Todibo. On top of these signings, West Ham also brought in new manager Julen Lopetegui.
Leicester City vs Aston Villa
Prediction
With the lack of chances Leicester have been creating through open play, coupled with transfer news turmoil surrounding their best defender, I fear this could be one-way traffic if the Foxes aren’t careful. Other than City and Arsenal, since Unai Emery took over for Aston Villa they have the most wins on the road in the Premier League.
Seeing what Villa were capable of doing on the road against a higher quality team in West Ham, I have to believe that Villa should win this game fairly comfortably. I don’t dislike a play on the both teams to score – no line at +125, even though Leicester are at home. With their limited options in attack, this very well could be a possibility.
I do like Aston Villa on the moneyline at -135, as well as a potential play on the alternate spread of -1.5 at +190. If Watkins and the Villa offense can establish flow early, I do believe they can keep the momentum for the majority of the game, especially with Villa having the superior midfield to win back possession of the ball, and limited swings of play from Leicester.
