Fighting for the status of the best relegated side, Leicester City and Ipswich Town lock horns at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Foxes secured a respectable share of the points at Nottingham Forest last time out, whilst the Tractor Boys were defeated at home by Brentford.
Match preview
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After cantering to the Championship title during the 2023-24 campaign under the expert tutelage of Enzo Maresca, Leicester have struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, and the East Midlands side will be operating back in the second tier next season, with the future of their current head coach in doubt.
Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s chances of keeping his job at Filbert Way have been boosted over the past fortnight, with the Foxes ending an 11-game winless run and securing four points from a pair of battles with bottom side Southampton and most recently Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest.
It appeared as if goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood would seal maximum points for the Tricky Trees at the City Ground last time out, however a late strike from Facundo Buonanotte past Matz Sels meant that the hosts dropped crucial points in their hunt for a top-five standing.
Following a rare two-game unbeaten streak in the top flight, the Foxes are still occupying 19th spot in the Premier League standings, a mammoth 16 points away from Europa League finalists Tottenham Hotspur in 17th – a statistic which highlights the disparity between the bottom three and the rest of the division this year.
The King Power Stadium will play host to an iconic moment this weekend, when Leicester legend Jamie Vardy is set to make his 500th and final appearance for the 2015-16 Premier League champions, with the energetic forward sitting on 199 goals for the club across all competitions.
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As is the case with Sunday afternoon’s hosts in the East Midlands, Ipswich will be plying their trade in the Championship next season, with the Tractor Boys failing to muster up the required home form to give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding a bottom-three placement.
Kieran McKenna‘s men have won just one of their 18 top-flight matches at Portman Road this campaign, with the latest defeat in East Anglia arriving last Saturday afternoon, when a solitary strike from Kevin Schade was enough for Brentford to claim three points on their travels.
Collecting a mere two points from their last six Premier League clashes, Ipswich are sitting in 18th place in the top-flight rankings ahead of their final away contest of the season, level on points with opponents Leicester, both earning 22 points from 36 matches up to this point.
Unusually, 15 of the Tractor Boys’ 22 points have been collected away from Portman Road, with the Championship-bound side enjoying a productive day recently on the South Coast, where goals either side of the half-time whistle from Nathan Broadhead and Liam Delap sealed success over Bournemouth.
Finding the net on 12 occasions during his debut campaign at this level, Ipswich marksman Delap is preparing for his penultimate match as a Tractor Boy, with the former Manchester City youngster set for a high-profile move away from Portman Road during the summer transfer window.
Team News
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Leicester remain without the services of Adbul Fatawu, who has missed the majority of the Premier League campaign owing to a serious knee injury.
The Foxes are also unable to call upon the talents of a number of key defenders, including Harry Souttar (ankle) and Ricardo Pereira (muscle).
There are a few attacking absentees for the hosts, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Stephy Mavididi occupying beds in their club’s medical room.
Van Nistelrooy is battling on without the shot-stopping abilities of his first-choice goalkeeper, with Mads Hermansen suffering with a hernia.
Ipswich’s survival bid has been hindered massively by a multitude of injuries this term, with the likes of Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) and Wes Burns (knee) barely featuring in 2025.
The Tractor Boys are further restricted in attacking areas by the absences of Welshman Broadhead (thigh) and summer arrival Sammie Szmodics (ankle).
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Stolarczyk; Justin, Coady, Faes, Thomas; Ndidi, Skipp, McAteer, Buonanotte, El Khannous; Vardy
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Johnson, O’Shea, Burgess, Greaves; Morsy, Taylor, Hutchinson, Clarke, Enciso; Delap
We say: Leicester City 2-0 Ipswich Town
With Vardy stepping out onto the pitch for the final time as a Leicester player, there should be a special atmosphere at the King Power Stadium this weekend.
The veteran is unlikely to bow out quietly, meaning that a 200th Foxes goal and three points are on the agenda for the 38-year-old at the expense of Ipswich.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
