Plymouth Argyle vs Leicester City: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
Relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle host promotion-chasing Leicester City on Friday evening as both sides look to secure vital points.
The home side earned a 1-1 home draw with relegation rivals QPR midweek, while Leicester suffered a devastating 1-0 away loss at Millwall. The Foxes remain top of the Championship for now but could be overtaken by Ipswich Town, who host Watford on Wednesday evening.
Leicester secured a 4-0 home win in the reverse fixture back in December.
Recent Form
Plymouth Argyle
The Pilgrims come into the match in 20th place, just two points above the dreaded drop zone, following the QPR result. With just one win in their last eight, the last thing Plymouth need is a visit from the Championship leaders. Though they will take hope from Millwall's win over Leicester midweek, the result saw the Lions move two points ahead of Plymouth in 17th.
The good news for Argyle fans is they've fared much better in their home fixtures so far; they've averaged 1.38 points per home match this season, compared to a dismal 0.76 on the road. However, Plymouth haven't won on home soil since a 3-1 victory over Cardiff City in January.
Matches at Home Park have seen plenty of goals, primarily due to Plymouth's tendency to score and concede many in equal measure. An average of 1.86 goals scored in home fixtures makes for great reading, with Plymouth finding the net at least once in 71% of these games. They've also scored at least two in 56%, while bagging three or more in 43%.
Their attacking output has left them vulnerable at the back though, and has left them with an average of 1.67 goals conceded at Home Park. Only 14% of their home fixtures have ended in clean sheet, and 56% have seen them ship two or more goals.
Leicester City
Leicester's automatic promotion ambitions were dealt a hammer blow by the loss in East London midweek. Thankfully for them, rivals Leeds United also dropped the ball with a 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland, with Foxes fans praying for Ipswich Town to suffer a similar fate on Wednesday. Though Leicester still sit top, an Ipswich win will see the latter move two points ahead at the Championship summit.
The away side come into the fixture with the best record on the road in the division, taking an average of two points per away fixture across their 21 outings so far. Their recent form has been patchy however, with Leicester recording just one win in their last five games on their travels. They've also lost their last two while failing to score a single goal.
Nevertheless, their goalscoring record will give reason for optimism given the home side's leaky defence; an average of 1.86 goals scored per away fixture is impressive, and Leicester have failed to find the net in just 14% of away games so far. They've also scored two or more in 56% of these fixtures.
Despite their recent troubles on the road, Leicester have performed admirably in defensive columns overall. Their 1.05 goals shipped in away games isn't remarkable, but they have only shipped two or more in 19% of these matches. Only 24% have ended in clean sheets though, giving the home side reason to hope for their own impressive scoring record to continue on Friday.
Prediction
Leicester have no doubt wobbled in their recent away fixtures, and come up against a side who have made habit of scoring regularly in front of their own fans. However, Plymouth's defensive record has cost them dearly this season, and they too come up against a side who have little trouble in finding the back of the net. There's a reason these two sides are where they are in the table, and while there is little value in backing them on the moneyline, Leicester rightly come into this one as firm favourites.
Home Park has seen goals aplenty so far this campaign, averaging 3.52 in total across 21 fixtures, while Leicester's away fixtures have also seen their fair share of action with an average of 2.9. Expect more goal-mouth action this weekend as both sides look to secure more vital points to realise their respective end of season ambitions.