Leicester vs AEK Athens Match Preview

Leicester City faces AEK Athens in the 6th and last round of the UEFA Europa League group stage at King Power Stadium. In the first match between these two teams, the foxes prevailed 1-2 on the road. One again match will be held behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Leicester City wer the big favorites from this group to qualify and had some good performances so far showing great stability. In their previous home matches, they won 3-0 over Zorya and 4-0 over Braga. After their win in Athens against AEK, a draw followed in Portugal against Braga by 3-3. In the previous round, they suffered a 1-0 defeat in Ukraine against Zorya, in a match where they played with a heavily rotated squad. Today, they will seek three more valuable points to secure the first spot in the group stage.

In the English Premier League, Leicester comes from a 1-2 away win against Sheffield United, with Jamie Vardy scoring the winning goal in the dying minutes of the game. They are currently sitting at the 4th place of the standings, with a total of 21 points after 11 rounds, being just 3 points away from the 1st spot. No significant changes are expected from Leicester's manager Brendan Rodgers, as in the next Premier League game they are playing against weak Brighton.

AEK Athens, on the other hand, are on a very bad run in the last few weeks. The visitors are coming from two consecutive home defeats in the UEFA Europa League group stage, against Zorya by 0-3 and against Braga by 2-4, remaining at the last spot of the group table. In the domestic league, they won over Asteras Tripolis by 1-2 on the road, however, in the next round, they suffered one more defeat, this time in the derby against local rivals Panathinaikos by 1-2.

Things are getting very difficult for manager Massimo Carrera, but the club remains confident in their manager and players at the moment. AEK traveled to Leicester with a lot of missing players in their squad, such as Marko Livaja, Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Helder Lopes, and Michalis Bakakis due to injuries, as well as the suspended Emanuel Insua. In the following round of the Greek Super League, they will face Apollon Smyrnis away from home.

Leicester was more than effective at their home appearances so far, and since they failed to get points last week in Ukraine, their manager will prepare his best eleven for tonight's important match. AEK are on a bad run and have a lot of missings to cope with, especially back on their defense. I find it difficult for them to get something positive out of this match. I expect Leicester to prevail easily, covering the -2.5 goals of asian handicap