Southampton v Leicester

Southampton vs Leicester City Preview

Perhaps the pick of this weekend's upcoming fixtures in the Championship is this Friday night's tussle between two of last season's three relegated teams from the Premier League as Southampton and Leicester City go head-to-head at St Mary's Stadium with both teams looking to build upon encouraging starts to their respective campaigns.

After having had to endure the ignominy of being relegated from the English top flight at the end of last season's disastrous campaign, Southampton managed to dust themselves off to make a promising start to this new Championship season as they collected three wins in their opening four games of the new term.

Victories against Sheffield Wednesday 2-1, Plymouth Argyle 2-1 and QPR 2-1 along with a point in a high-scoring 4-4 draw with Norwich City had given Saints a solid start but just before the international break, Russell Martin's side were dealt a comprehensive 5-0 thrashing by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Saints will therefore be keen to return to winning ways on Friday night but the goals market looks the most appealing option here as each of Southampton's five games to date have resulted in Over 2.5 goals.

Leicester City had also made a promising start to life back in the Championship after a nine-year absence as The Foxes raced out of the starting blocks to register four league wins on the trot in the English second tier which placed them top of the early Championship table.

Wins against Coventry City 2-1, Huddersfield Town 1-0, Cardiff City 2-1 and Rotherham United 2-1 had given the east midlands club the perfect start to their prospective automatic promotion ambitions but they too came undone just before the international break as they were handed a somewhat surprising and unexpected 1-0 loss on home soil to Hull City at their King Power Stadium.

Leicester City, similar to Southampton, will be wanting to achieve a swift return to the Premier League as soon as possible but both teams have seen their respective star midfielders depart the club to the English top flight with the likes of Ward-Prowse leaving for West Ham, and Maddison leaving for Tottenham.

Southampton v Leicester City Verdict

Southampton registered a 1-0 home win against Leicester City in their last meeting back in early March but this upcoming clash looks like being a tough one to call as both sides have made promising starts to the new season.

Instead, the goals market appeals for this upcoming encounter as three of the previous four meetings between Southampton and Leicester City have resulted in Over 2.5 goals and both sides will be keen to get the better of the other side in this clash as it's likely that both teams will be vying for promotion at the end of this season.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Leicester City win @ 2.80

Correct score: Leicester City 2-1 @ 11.00