Leeds vs. Leicester Betting Tips: Highly charged encounter expected at Elland Road

The big games keep on coming in the Premier League and this midweek fixture list is no different. Leicester head to Elland Road for what promises to be a highly-charged encounter and Scott Thornton is on hand with his best bets.

Dean Smith took charge of his second game as Leicester boss against Wolves. His team showed great spirit to come from behind and win. Those three points saw them climb out of the relegation zone on goal difference. The game against Leeds is the first of two very big games for the Foxes this week. Two wins would put them in a strong position to remain in England’s top flight. However, defeats against Leeds and Everton would be disastrous.

Leeds are one point above Leicester in the league and there is plenty of cause for concern given their recent displays under Javi Gracia. Defeat on Tuesday night could see them enter the bottom three. Leeds have been conceding a lot of goals recently and it’s hard to see them staying up if their defensive woes continue for the remainder of the season.

Dean Smith has several players ruled out with injury. Vardy, Pereira, Justin and Vestergaard are all ruled out through injury. James Maddison and Harvey Barnes are also carrying knocks but they may still feature. Tyler Adams is the only notable absentee for the home side.

We backed Leeds cards in our weekend preview and the angle looks promising again. These sides are embroiled in the most intense relegation battle for many years in the Premier League. Expect the tackles to fly in here and inevitably cards will follow. The crowd at Elland Road will demand a response from their team after a poor performance against Fulham. Leeds picked up four yellow cards in that game. 

Javi Gracia’s side have to go all out for three points here and they should pose a threat going forward. Leeds’ league matches at home this season have seen an average of 3.8 cards per game; two per game for the opposition and 1.8 for the home side. Leeds have taken on relegation threatened Nottingham Forest and Southampton at home in the last couple of months. Both of those matches saw five cards in the game.

Leicester’s matches have been low on cards this season but that has started to change recently as the stakes have gotten higher. Dean Smith has been appointed to inject some fight into a side that was sleepwalking into relegation and that fight will be needed at a hostile Elland Road. The Foxes have Crystal Palace and Southampton in their last four away matches. Like Tuesday’s game, those were vital in the relegation fight. The matches saw six and seven cards respectively.

Goals also look to be on the agenda. Leeds issues at the back have worsened. They have played five matches so far in April and are conceding an average of 3.6 goals per game. They have done reasonably well in attack and haven’t failed to score in any of those matches.

The Foxes have been more direct in Dean Smith’s two matches in charge. They have found the net in both of them, including their visit to the Etihad to take on an in-form Manchester City side. 

For the longer odds bet we are still going to back goals and cards in the match. This one has the potential to see a glut of goals and cards and the referee will be keen to ensure this one doesn’t spiral out of control.

Paul Tierney is at the whistle for this one and he has given out an average of 4.07 cards per game this season. This is well above the league average of 3.54.

There have been four goals or more in five of Leeds’ last seven matches and this one has the potential to follow suit. An early goal for either side should see the game open up as the opposition chases the game. We can certainly expect entertainment when these two square off.