Crystal Palace-Leicester City Preview

Brendan Rodgers is focused on the here and now as Leicester City prepare to welcome Crystal Palace to face them this weekend in the Premier League, following a miserable start to the 2022-23 season.

The Foxes have been in dire form, and sit marooned at the foot of the table with just four points to their name so far.

Rodgers, however, is taking fixtures one at a time as he seeks to facilitate a turnaround and get them back towards safer waters on the top-flight ladder.

"We feel that sure they're important but really it's only the next game that is most important," he said. "Our focus is on Crystal Palace. Our challenge is to put it all together. We've had one 90 minutes (against Nottingham Forest) when it was really good for us and it's having the intensity and concentration to do that again. We played really well but we didn't back that up at Bournemouth and now we have two home games.

"My job is still the same, to get the team out of the situation we're in. The noise and pressure is from outside. We always knew this period would be an opportunity to get results after the start we had."

Opposite number Patrick Vieira, meanwhile, has curbed hopes on a potential Qatar 2022 World Cup call for Eberechi Eze, with the former England youth international on the bubble for the squad.

"His performance will dictate if his name should be around the conversation or not," he added. "He has been doing really well for us. He is playing better, he is scoring goals. There is still more to come from him but as a football club we will give him time to get to his best because he had an injury that stopped his progress. Now he has been playing game after game and he has to perform at a higher level to allow those kind of conversations.

"He is a good dribbler, he understands the game, but he still needs to progress. What I expect from him is to be more decisive in the last third. He has the ability to score more goals. He has the ability to make more assists. That is one of the elements of the game that he needs to progress but I am pleased with what he is giving the team at the moment."

Leicester City – Patson Daka

The Foxes forward has been directly involved in four goals in his last four Premier League games for them (3 goals, 1 assist), having scored just once (no assists) in his previous 18 in the competition beforehand.

Crystal Palace – Odsonne Edouard

The Eagles frontman has scored in his last two Premier League games for – he's not scored in three consecutive league games since February 2021, and a run of six at Celtic. However, all eight of his Premier League goals have come in London (7 at Selhurst Park, 1 at the Emirates).

Updated October 14, 2022