Bournemouth vs Leicester City

February 27, 2024

SpookyExpress previews Tuesday's FA Cup match between Bournemouth and Leicester City, including betting prediction, team news and possible starting XIs.

Bournemouth welcome Championship leaders Leicester City in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday night.

The Cherries have won each of their last three meetings with Leicester City, all of which have been in the Premier League, including a 2-1 comeback win when the teams last met at Vitality Stadium in October 2022.

All in all, Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last six home games against the Foxes (all in the Premier League), winning four of them, including the last three.

In fact, Leicester City have not managed to beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium since a Championship clash (1-0 win) in February 2014.

Bournemouth Betting Preview (-167 at Everygame)

The Cherries once again failed to end their losing sequence against Manchester City but the 1-0 home loss at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday was probably their most impressive performance against the defending champions so far.

Bournemouth could not make the most of some fine opportunities, with the defeat leaving them down in 14^th position in the Premier League table, eight points clear of the drop zone.

Winless in their last seven Premier League matches (losing four of them) - since a 3-0 home win over Fulham on Boxing Day - Bournemouth's next three top-flight matches are actually against the bottom three - Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town. With that said, the Cherries will be confident of claiming points in the coming weeks, whereas their immediate focus is on booking a spot in the quarter-finals of the oldest football cup competition in the world.

Andoni Iraola's side have had to win two games to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup, opening their quest with a 3-2 comeback victory at Queens Park Rangers in their first match of the calendar year (on January 6), before thumping Swansea City 5-0 at the Vitality Stadium on January 25.

Philip Billing, who scored in both of Bournemouth's wins over Leicester City last season, served his three-game suspension and the Danish midfielder is set to return to the starting side on Tuesday night.

Iraola will most likely make changes from the side that started against Manchester City at the weekend, with Mark Travers set to come in goal, while Dango Ouattara, Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra are all in line for spots in the first XI.

Turkish forward Enes Unal, who joined Bournemouth on a loan deal this winter, was brought on as a late substitute against Manchester City and will hope for a start, but Dominic Solanke is still expected to lead the line for the Cherries.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Kelly, Ryan Fredericks, James Hill, Max Aarons and Tyler Adams are all sidelined for the Cherries.

Leicester City Betting Preview (+400 at Everygame)

The Foxes are fighting to regain their top-flight status and so far so good, The East Midlands outfit are top of the Championship table.

However, Enzo Maresca's side suffered a dramatic 3-1 defeat at the hands of Leeds United on Friday night. Belgian defender Wout Faes opened the scoring for Leicester City in the first-half but late goals from Connor Roberts, Archie Gray and Patrick Bamford all completed a remarkable comeback win for Leeds, who are now six points behind the Championship leaders.

Thus, Leeds United claimed a league double over Leicester City and the defeat means that the Foxes had now lost back-to-back games for the first time since November, when they once again lost to Leeds (1-0 at the King Power Stadium) and also at Middlesbrough. They have now lost the reverse games as well, but Enzo Maresca's men are still favorites to return to the Premier League at the first ask.

Leicester City boast the best attack in the Championship, scoring 70 goals in 34 games but they don't have an extremely prolific forward at the moment. Stephy Mavididi, midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and an aging Jamie Vardy are the team's top goalscorers in the league with 10 goals each.

The Foxes have faced two fellow Championship sides on their way to the FA Cup fifth round, beating Millwall 3-2 at The Den in the third round before recording a 3-0 home win over Birmingham in the fourth round one month ago.

Leicester City are set for a home match against Queens Park Rangers in the Championship on Saturday afternoon. Enzo Maresca will probably field a strong line-up against Bournemouth on Tuesday, though, with Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi the only confirmed absentee due to a leg injury.

Furthermore, veteran striker Jamie Vardy, who scored five goals in his last five appearances for the Foxes, is a major doubt with the issue which forced him to miss out against Leeds United last time out.

Zambian forward Patson Daka, who opened the scoring for Leicester City during their 2-1 defeat on the south coast in October 2022, is expected to lead the line.

Elsewhere, backup goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk should be given the nod between the sticks, while the likes of Conor Coady, Callum Doyle, Dennis Praet and Marc Albrighton could all be brought into the starting side.

Possible Starting Lineups of Bournemouth and Leicester City

Bournemouth: Mark Travers - Adam Smith, Illya Zabarnyi, Marcos Senesi, Milos Kerkez - Alex Scott, Lewis Cook - Dango Ouattara, Philip Billing, Luis Sinisterra - Dominic Solanke. (4-2-3-1)

Leicester City: Jakub Stolarczyk - Ricardo Pereira, Wout Faes, Conor Coady, Callum Doyle - Hamza Choudhury, Harry Winks, Dennis Praet - Marc Albrighton, Patson Daka, Abdul Fatawu. (4-3-3)

Spooky Express Betting Prediction

This is actually a really tough game to call, as neither team is expected to be at full strength in midweek. It could go either way, yet we have a feeling that it won't be a cagey affair and that Bournemouth's quality and home advantage should allow them to make their way into the quarter-finals of the competition.

Spooky Express Free Play: Outcome And Both To Score - Bournemouth and Yes +185 at Everygame for 4/10 Units

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