Leicester City have been in an amazing fairy-tale run in the EPL as they stand on top of the table, with 13 games to go. Leicester can further strengthen their position at the top on Sunday, but have a huge battle on their hands as they are set to travel to the Emirates Stadium to face the title challengers, Arsenal.
After defeating two giants of EPL – Liverpool and Manchester City – in their last two fixtures, Leicester should be a confident unit on Sunday. They have wooed fans around the world with their entertaining display on the field and will be keen to do the same against Arsenal.
Leicester are fun to watch with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez troubling teams with their skills on the pitch. Vardy has been the standout performer in the EPL with 18 goals against his name. The English striker has been in ominous form and has troubled defenders with his burst of pace. He is one of the most lethal strikers in Europe at present. With Mahrez also on top of his game, he will be another key marked man.
Though people have been talking about their goal scoring prowess in the field, which is visible, Leicester have been a good defensive side as well. They have only let in two goals in their last five matches. Leicester have been improving by each and every game, which is a major problem for all top teams in the EPL. Manager Claudio Ranieri believes there is no pressure on Leicester when they face Arsenal.
"It's a very interesting Premier League so far. We want to fight to maintain this level. It's interesting, it's fantastic. Why? Because of what happened. It's a great story. Why the pressure? There's no pressure, just enjoy," Leicester City official website quoted Ranieri as saying.
"I think the pressure is on the other teams. We have pressure for our little gap. We continue to dream with our fans and we want to continue to dream. Nobody wake us up please!"
The match is of huge importance to both the teams in the EPL, even more so for Arsenal, who are five points adrift of Leicester, and a victory at home will help them bridge the gap to two points. But if they lose, Leicester will be eight points ahead of Arsenal and the Gunners might have to give up their title ambitions.
Arsenal have not been in the best of form in the EPL at present with one win from their last five games. This is not the kind of record which Arsenal would have wanted to welcome Leicester with on Sunday.
"What is important is to find the momentum back and that means that you win a few games. After, let's not count too much on the weakness of Leicester because they have not shown too many," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was quoted as saying in Arsenal's official website.
However, they can take inspiration from being one of two teams to have registered victory against Leicester, who were defeated 2-5 in September. For which they need star players such as Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to come all guns blazing.
Wenger also needs to find ways to stop Leicester from playing their counter-attacking brand of football, which has always been the visitor's forte. An interesting battle is on the cards with Arsenal, who love to express themselves at home. The manager believes that his team is under pressure to defeat Leicester.
"The pressure is on us as well, of course. I don't deny that but I take that in a very positive way and as an opportunity to show how strong we are," Wenger said.
Where to watch live
Arsenal vs Leicester City EPL game is scheduled for 12 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. IST) start. Live TV coverage of the Arsenal vs Leicester City EPL game in India will be on Star Sports 4/HD,while the match can also be watched via live streaming online on Hotstar andStarsports.com.
Arsenal vs Leicester City EPL game will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports 1/HD with live streaming on Sky Go.
NBC Sports Network will broadcast the Arsenal vs Leicester City EPL game in the US, while the action can also be live streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra.
Australia viewers can watch the EPL game live on Fox Sports 4, while the online live streaming options are on Fox Sports On Demand and Foxtel Play.
