Everton at Leicester City: Match Preview via Royal Blue Mersey
Everton travel to the King Power Stadium to face the newly crowned Premier League Champions
This weekend's match-up features two teams with nothing really left to play for.
Leicester City have completed their improbable run to the top and been crowned champions of the Premier League following Tottenham's draw with
Chelsea. And Everton have been knocked out of the FA Cup and have long secured a place outside of European competition.
Despite the teams having all but locked up their final positions in the table, many of the players still have plenty on the line. The Euro 2016 competition is this summer and you can bet that quite a few Everton and Leicester City players will be looking to secure a place on their respective National Team's final squads. Everton players
Phil Jagielka and
Leighton Baines must put in some impressive performances and remain healthy if they want to make Roy Hodgson's England side.
The Opposition
There isn't much that can be said about Leicester that hasn't been said by just about every media outlet around the world. Their run from relegation fodder to English Champions is nothing short of amazing and it should give hope to teams like Everton that winning the league is a possibility.
Everton's battered and suspended back line is going to have to contend with a speedy and dangerous counter attack from the Champions. Jamie Vardy will be back from his red card suspension and will be looking to stretch the Everton defense with his blistering pace. Aside from Vardy, there are the usual suspects of Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante in midfield adding playmaking acumen and defensive skill respectively.
Midfielder Danny Drinkwater and defender
Robert Huth will miss this week's match, but Leicester are dangerous and defensively stout without either player. Given Everton's lack of fight the last few weeks, this will be arguably the toughest match-up they've had in a while.
Team News
Phil Jagielka,
Gareth Barry and
Seamus Coleman could return to the first team giving Everton's defensive prospects a massive boost. It will be good to have Barry's presence back in the midfield and Everton have been sorely missing Coleman as the Mo Besic at right back experiment has proven to be a failure. Phil Jagielka will be looking to impress England coach Roy Hodgson and make a case for his inclusion in the Euro 2016 roster.
Gerard Deulofeu will be out for the rest of the season following a knee injury that he suffered in training at the hands of Oumar Niasse.
The Final Word
Surely Leicester City are riding high having just been crowned champions, and Everton are likely looking to take advantage of a team that may try to ride out the remainder of the season. However, I'm expecting the same old Leicester City to show up and I'm struggling to see a scenario in which Everton comes away with a victory.
Predicted Starting XI: Robles, Baines, Stones, Jagielka, Hibbert, Barry, McCarthy, Cleverley, Barkley, Lennon, Lukaku
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