Leicester’s Jamie Vardy celebrates after scoring against Manchester United
Saturday, 11:00pm
Swansea v Leicester
H 2.85, D 3.55, A 2.7
Record already in hand, Leicester striker Jamie Vardy is ready to make the most of every chance he gets in his pursuit of more goals.
Vardy can extend his scoring streak to 12 straight Premier League games tomorrow when Leicester plays at Swansea.
“You have to realize that there are not a lot of chances coming your way,” Vardy said. “Once you get them, you need to be taking them. Otherwise, you’re going to get punished yourselves.”
With his goal in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United last weekend, Vardy eclipsed the record previously held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had a 10-match scoring streak.
Leicester is in a surprising second place in the Premier League after 14 games, trailing Manchester City on goal difference and leading Man United by one point. Leicester only escaped relegation last season by winning nine of its last 11 games.
Much of this season’s success can be credited to the 28-year-old Vardy, who signed for Leicester in 2012 from non-league soccer.
“He’s very, very smart,” Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said, “very clever and very cool.”
Man City, which beat Hull 4-1 in the League Cup quarterfinals earlier this week, faces Stoke tomorrow with Spain playmaker David Silva back in the team. Silva played for 80 minutes against Hull.
“The most important thing was to qualify,” City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, “but it was important for him to have 80 minutes after a long injury.”
Also Saturday, Man United will host West Ham and Arsenal will host Sunderland. Also, it’s: Chelsea vs. Bournemouth; West Bromwich Albion vs. Tottenham; Watford vs. Norwich; and Southampton vs. Aston Villa. On Sunday, Liverpool will visit Newcastle, while Everton will host Crystal Palace on Monday.
Here are some things to know about this weekend’s matches:
With Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez all getting injured in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Norwich last week, the team is hurting.
Sanchez has scored six goals in the Premier League and nine overall, and it’s unclear how long he will be out.
“He says it is a kick on his hamstring,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “I fear the reality is worse than that.”
Those Arsenal injuries, combined with a rejuvenated Sunderland squad under recently hired manager Sam Allardyce, should be a boost for the Black Cats.
“We will go into the big games as the underdogs and tell the lads to enjoy themselves because nobody expects you to get a result,” Allardyce said. “Hopefully we can shock one or two because the lads have enough confidence in their ability to play any team at any time.”
West Ham, still without the injured Dimitri Payet and Enner Valencia, could end up losing Diafra Sakho as well ahead of the trip to face Old Trafford.
The Senegal striker was injured in the team’s 1-1 draw with West Brom last week.
“I don’t know if it’s too early before the scan … but it looks like a muscle injury,” West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said. “It’s a big blow for us after Valencia and Payet.” Jonah Mendel, London, AP / Oddschecker.com
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