Given both sides have been relative powerhouses in the Midlands over the last few years, nobody expected either club to be battling relegation. The sacking of Brendan Rodgers and Bruno Lage, though, sees both teams come into this game under different managers than they started the season with. While Lage left before the 2022 World Cup, Rodgers only left recently. Can Leicester get some kind of new manager bounce under Dean Smith?
Leicester News
The Foxes come into this one with the knowledge that they have both a poor recent record in the league and a tremendous record against Wolves. They have not even so much as conceded a goal against their Midlands rivals in the last four games at the King Power.
They are likely to be without a few key players, though, and a run of eight losses in the last nine means the Foxes come into this one very much the hunted. Smith and his coaching team of Craig Shakespeare and John Terry will need to get creative to field a competitive side here.
Wolves News
Wolves have been, for the most part, decent under Julen Lopetegui. A pair of wins against Brentford and Chelsea has propelled the Wolves up the league table, and they now sit in the relative comfort of 13th spot. Three unbeaten and with three wins in their last six, too, Wolves come into this with a rare blend of decent form, upward mobility, and a relatively fit squad.
Verdict
Without being harsh, Leicester look dreadful. They have barely put up a fight for most of 2023, and the sacking of Rodgers has done little to galvanise the squad. Whatever the problem was, it was not the cup-winning coach. Wolves are not special by any means, but they bought-in fully to new coach Lopetegui’s system and look primed for another result here.
Score Prediction: 0-1