With a piece of silverware already under their belts, Leicester City kick off their 2021-22 Premier League season on Saturday against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the King Power Stadium.
While Brendan Rodgers is gearing up for his third full season in charge of the Foxes, a new name will aim to restore Wolves back to their short-lived European days.
Match preview
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The famed Leicester City end-of-season collapse ended up proving fatal in their bid to return to the Champions League, as three defeats from their final four Premier League games in the 2020-21 season condemned them to another fifth-placed finish and another stint in the Europa League.
Unable to take advantage of Chelsea's defeat to Aston Villa as they were sunk by a Gareth Bale-inspired Tottenham Hotspur on the final day, Leicester did manage to march to their first-ever FA Cup triumph over the Blues, which booked their appearance in the season's annual curtain raiser - the Community Shield.
Facing a Manchester City side far from full strength, the Foxes kept Pep Guardiola's men at bay for 89 minutes before former City striker Kelechi Iheanacho coolly converted from the penalty spot to propel Leicester to their first Community Shield triumph in 50 years.
Winning the curtain-raiser is one thing, but Leicester supporters are clearly pining for a return to the Champions League, and as ever, an astute array of acquisitions in Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand could prove priceless in their bid for a top-four finish.
Leicester's home form in 2021 so far has certainly been a mixed bag - winning six and losing five of their 11 Premier League games since the turn of the year - while a record of one win from their last five opening-day matches is not exactly cause for optimism, either.
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London came calling for Nuno Espirito Santo after he failed to replicate the type of form which propelled Wolverhampton Wanderers into Europe, with yet another Portuguese in former Benfica coach Bruno Lage arriving at Molineux during a significant summer of change.
Of course, Wolves' cause in the 2020-21 campaign was not helped by the sickening head injury suffered by Raul Jimenez, with Nuno's side winning just three of their final 13 games in the top flight to claim 13th spot in the table - 17 points adrift of Europe and 17 clear of relegation.
Jimenez's return to fitness has been a truly welcome sight, while the acquisitions of Francisco Trincao, Yerson Mosquera, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Jose Sa represent a statement of intent from Lage, who oversaw a mixed bag of pre-season results with the West Midlands side.
Successes over Coventry City, Al Shabab, Real Betis and Forest Green Rovers were dampened by defeats to Crewe Alexandra, Las Palmas and Celta Vigo, although Wolves travel to Leicester with the knowledge that they have not suffered defeat on the opening day since the 2012-13 Championship season.
A Jamie Vardy penalty was all that separated the two sides during Wolves' most recent trip to the King Power, and worryingly for the visitors, they have failed to find the back of the net in five of their six Premier League battles with Leicester since 2018.
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Team News
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Leicester have already been dealt a major blow with the news that Wesley Fofana has suffered a fractured fibula after a challenge from Villarreal's Fer Nino, and the Foxes are said to be closing in on a deal for Jannik Vestergaard to fill the void.
Daniel Amartey should continue to deputise in defence for the time being, though, while Jonny Evans and James Justin are not expected to be back until after the international break.
Timothy Castagne has been donning a mask in training after suffering facial fractures during Euro 2020 with Belgium, but the right-back may not be passed fit just yet.
Wolves' medical staff also have their work cut out for them at present, with attacking duo Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence still recovering from surgery alongside another long-term victim in Jonny.
Further defensive concerns have arisen with Willy Boly and new arrival Mosquera, who are nursing thigh injuries sustained in pre-season, so Max Kilman should earn a start alongside Romain Saiss and Conor Coady in the back three.
Jimenez rediscovered his goalscoring touch in pre-season and looks set to be flanked by Trincao and Adama Traore, whose future remains up in the air.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Amartey, Soyuncu, Bertrand; Ndidi, Tielemans; Perez, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Coady, Kilman, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Ait-Nouri; Traore, Jimenez, Trincao
We say: Leicester City 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
With Vardy, Iheanacho and Daka all jostling for places in Rodgers's lineup, expect the Foxes - who have so far resisted offers for creative hub James Maddison - to come out all guns blazing on the opening day.
The hosts will feel confident of beating anyone after getting one over Man City, and while Wolves boast quite the attacking contingent of their own, Lage is still finding his feet in the role, and Leicester should see out a comfortable success.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leicester City win with a probability of 51.51%. A draw had a probability of 25.7% and a win for Wolverhampton Wanderers had a probability of 22.79%.
The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.04%) and 2-1 (9.32%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.12%), while for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win it was 0-1 (7.89%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 13.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Leicester City in this match.
