Leicester v Wolves betting tips: Tough start for Lage
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Leicester v Wolves betting tips and odds
Bruno Lage takes charge of Wolves for the first time in a competitive match in a midlands derby at Leicester who are 8/13 to get the season off to a winning start.
The Foxes missed out on the Champions League spots on the final day of the season for the second year in a row when they lost at home to Tottenham but they are 4/1 to make it third time lucky in the Premier League top-four odds.
City warmed up for the game by beating Manchester City in the Community Shield so let’s take a look at the markets and odds to help with our Leicester v Wolves betting tips.
Match Odds
Leicester have won two and drawn one of their home matches against Wolves in the last three years and have never conceded, so we go 8/5 on a win to nil or 4/5 on at least one team not to score.
However, goals have been hard to come by recently with three of the last four meetings ending in goalless draws, which is priced at 9/1, while a share of the spoils is 27/10.
Boss Brendan Rodgers has made some shrewd signings during the transfer window, with 22-year French midfielder Boubakary Soumare, a £17million capture from Lille, potentially the best of the lot, although Ryan Bertand on a free transfer is also an excellent piece of business.
Success for Wolves this season may depend on the confidence of striker Raul Jimenez, who suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal at the end of November, but the Mexican has been playing in the pre-season friendlies, scoring in the 1-1 draw with Stoke and hitting the post in the 1-0 defeat to Celta Vigo in the final warm-up.
Jose Sa replaced goalkeeper Rui Patricio, who joined Jose Mourinho at Roma, and Lage also brought in Portuguese teenager Francisco Trincao on loan from Barcelona and Colombian centre-back Yerson Mosquera from Atletico Nacional.
There is hope Wolves can improve on last season’s 13th place which saw Nuno Espirito Santo leave the club by mutual consent, subsequently joining Tottenham.
They will certainly need to improve their second-half record which was the third worst away from home, whereas only Liverpool and Manchester United won the second 45 minutes more than Leicester’s 17, so we make the hosts 19/20 to continue that trend.
In the #GetAPrice specials, under 1.5 goals in the first half, under 2.5 goals in the second and either team to win at 5/4 deserves consideration as one of our Leicester v Wolves betting tips.
Talking Tactics
Rodgers played different formations last season, although his favourite was a 4-2-3-1 with Jamie Vardy as the sole striker. But Kelechi Iheanacho’s successful end to the campaign meant he switched to a 3-4-1-2, as he did in the FA Cup final, or a 4-4-2.
Harvey Barnes is now back following a knee injury but with Soumare added to the squad, Rodgers has plenty of options in a talented midfield while new signing Patson Daka can provide competition for Vardy and Iheanacho up front.
Lage has been playing with two strikers in pre-season and Patrick Cutrone may get another chance despite claiming he was leaving the club after scoring the winner against Betis.
Dutch youngster Ki-Jana Hoever has impressed during pre-season and is pushing for a start.
Goalscorer Odds
Iheanacho is the 3/1 favourite to break the deadlock, with Daka and Vardy not far behind at 10/3 and 7/2, but Barnes looks an intersting option at 5/1 or 2/1 to score.
Youri Tielemans has an eye for goal and is 12/1 to get the ball rolling or 7/2 to find the net, while centre-back Caglar Soyuncu is 33/1 and 14/1 in both markets having scored in the 3-2 pre-season win against Villarreal.
Jimenez is 6/1 to bag the game’s first goal, while Fabio Silva, Cutrone and Adama Traore are 15/2, 10/1 and 14/1 respectively.
Match Info
Where: King Power Stadium
When: 15:00, Saturday 14th August
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
