Leicester vs. Crystal Palace Predictions: Maddison and Gallagher grab attention in the shots market

A tasty mid-table fixture awaits us at the King Power on Sunday afternoon when Leicester host Crystal Palace. Both teams are locked on 37 points in the table, with Palace 9th and Leicester 10th, although the latter have two games in hand...

Leicester have won three and lost one of their last five Premier League matches and head into Sunday’s clash following consecutive draws against Man Utd and PSV. While they'll be eager for a top-10 finish after an inconsistent league campaign, they’ll no doubt have one eye on Thursday’s return fixture as they go chasing silverware in the Europa League Conference.

Brendan Rodgers will be without key men Jamie Vardy and Wilfred Ndidi, but James Maddison is in fine form right now and Kelechi Iheanacho will draw confidence from his goal at Old Trafford last weekend.

Patrick Vieira’s progressive brand of exciting football is working wonders at Crystal Palace right now as the Eagles seek only their second-ever top-half finish in the Premier League, while they also have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to.

Vieira’s side are in terrific form, unbeaten in seven games in all competitions which includes a 3-0 spanking of former club Arsenal earlier in the week. 9th in the table, a win at Leicester would move them three points clear of Rodgers’ men, and in the process possibly extend the gap above the likes of Aston Villa, Southampton, and Brighton.

Palace can be backed at a tempting 2/1 to bag their fifth win in seven games, Leicester are the 11/8 favourites for the three points, whereas a draw is available at 12/5.

Given the good form of both teams it’s difficult to side with a winner in this fixture. However, we fully expect an exciting match complete with a few goals to boot, making the 7/2 for a draw and both teams to score appealing at a best-price of 7/2 with BetVictor.

Leicester have lost just one of their last 13 matches on home soil, and even that sole defeat they should have won having been 2-1 up against Spurs going into injury time. BTTS has occurred in four of their last five league home games, while each of their last five home games against Palace have gone over 2.5 goals.

Palace, unbeaten in seven games and thriving on the road, have so many reasons to be confident. They’ve bagged seven goals in their last two games alone, have risen up to 9th in the table, and are unbeaten away from home in 2022 (six matches in all competitions).

Furthermore, you can back a scoreline of 1-1 at 31/5, whereas a 2-2 outcome stands out at 29/2 (both with SBK).

Two exciting English midfielders take to the stage at the King Power on Sunday afternoon, a game which will no doubt be closely monitored by England manager Gareth Southgate.

Conor Gallagher has been one of the stand-out performers of the season through his intelligence, indefatigable work-rate and eye for goal which has even led to comparisons to Premier League legend Frank Lampard. Gallagher has found the back of the net an impressive eight times in the league this season from 42 shots, 20 of which have been on target (SOT). He’s also tallied 2+ SOT in six games to date, including six SOT spread across his last three games.

James Maddison has struck form of late - so much so that he's even bagged a prized spot in my FPL team - returning four goals in his last eight games in all competitions and was unfortunate to have a goal against Man Utd ruled out last weekend. Only eight players in the league have accrued more SOT than his 25, while he’s netted eight goals and 54 shots in total. Furthermore he has 2+ SOT in eight of his last 19 league games.

We fancy both players to be heavily involved from a attacking perspective on Sunday, making the price of 12.5/1 for each midfielder to have 2+ SOT a tempting bet to contemplate with Paddy Power.