ADAM Goodwin (@agjournalism) takes a look at Super Sunday's contest between Leicester and Everton.
Leicester v Everton | Sunday 29th October 2017, 16:00 | Sky Sports
After a short spell away from the division, Claude Puel will return to the Premier League with Leicester this Sunday as his new side take on Everton.
After guiding Southampton to an eighth-placed finish and a League Cup final, Puel was sacked at the end of last season, but the Leicester owners have taken a chance on the Frenchman to reinvigorate their season.
It’s also David Unsworth’s first game in charge of Everton, as he takes temporary charge of the Toffees until the club can find a replacement for former boss Ronald Koeman.
Unsworth was impressed with his side’s performance at Chelsea in the League Cup on Wednesday – despite a 2-1 loss – and they’ll need a similarly good performance this weekend.
Leicester
Puel had done a sterling job at Southampton last season and many were surprised when he was dismissed in June, but a lot of Saints fans were disappointed with Puel’s boring football and negative attitude.
I don’t think you can look too much into Puel’s reign at Southampton when looking at this game and, despite the complaints from supporters at his previous club, this Leicester side have plenty of attacking talent that can be utilised.
The Foxes have scored the 8th most goals in the league this season, and it’s clear to see that they don’t have problems in attack. When you have the likes of Jamie Vardy, Islam Slimani, Shinji Okazaki, Riyad Mahrez and Kelechi Iheanacho in your team, you’ll never struggle to hit the back of the net.
Leicester’s home form since the turn of the year has been encouraging, only losing to Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. They did lose at home to Everton at the end of 2016 however, something that will undoubtedly play on the minds of the Leicester players.
Everton
There was plenty of optimism surrounding Everton when they spent £140 million in the summer, with some people even suggesting that they’d be able to break into the top-four.
But it has been a disappointing start to the campaign to the campaign for the Toffees, and last weekend’s heavy defeat against Arsenal was the last straw for Koeman.
During his pre-match press conference ahead of this game, caretaker manager David Unsworth said: “It's all about results. We expect results and a certain level of performance.”
They certainly haven’t displayed that so far this season, with very few of the new signings settling into the squad. Wayne Rooney is the only one of the summer additions to have made a real impact, and he’ll need to step up to the plate again this weekend to ensure the Toffees aren’t inflicted to another defeat.
The betting angle
I can see Leicester pouring salt into Everton’s wounds this Sunday, and I fancy a good performance from the Foxes in Claude Puel’s first game in charge.
Leicester scored three in the cup against Leeds on Tuesday and they haven’t had problems in scoring goals in the league this season either.
That, along with Everton’s lack of confidence and shakiness at the back, Leicester to score Over 1.5 Goals at 11/10 with Coral looks great value. Expect Jamie Vardy & co to run riot against Unsworth’s Everton.
Best Bets
Leicester v Everton – Leicester to score Over 1.5 Goals (11/10 Coral)
