A trio of well-known pundits has cast a gloomy forecast for Leicester City as they prepare to face Crystal Palace, with all three predicting a tough day for the Foxes.
Former Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker Chris Sutton, Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer, and Arsenal great Paul Merson have all given their verdicts on the match, and none of them foresee a victory for Leicester.
Leicester’s season under Steve Cooper has been a mixed bag so far, and this weekend’s trip to South London is expected to be another challenging test.
Palace, while not in sparkling form, remain a formidable side on their day under manager Oliver Glasner, and Leicester will have to be at their best to avoid another defeat.
Sutton, who has developed a reputation for being particularly hard on Leicester in his punditry, doesn’t see City leaving Selhurst Park with any points.
He predicts a narrow 2-1 victory for Palace, citing the strength of the Eagles and their home advantage as key factors. Despite Palace’s somewhat shaky start to the season, Sutton believes the London club will secure their first win of the 2024/25 campaign against the Foxes.
Merson, never one to hold back in his assessments, has been even more blunt in his analysis. The Arsenal icon predicts a 3-0 victory for Palace, confident that Glasner’s men will be too strong for a Leicester side still finding its feet in the Premier League.
Shearer, meanwhile, hasn’t offered a specific scoreline but agrees that Leicester will struggle at Selhurst Park. Like his fellow pundits, the Newcastle United legend feels that Palace will be too much for Leicester to handle, especially away from home.
While Leicester fans may not enjoy hearing these grim predictions, there is hope that Cooper’s side can turn things around. After all, the Foxes have shown glimpses of quality under their new manager, and there’s still plenty of time to build momentum as the season progresses.
Cooper, for his part, seems determined to put his own stamp on the team and distance himself from the philosophy of his predecessor, Enzo Maresca.
Speaking ahead of the Palace match, Cooper made it clear that he’s intent on implementing his own ideas and shaping the team in his own image.
“You’re given a job with the intention to do it your way,” Cooper explained. “Part of that is what I want as a team, the challenge of what’s in front of you – and the context there is the step up to the Premier League – and then identifying and respecting what had gone on before you.”
The former Nottingham Forest manager is evidently keen to build on the foundations laid by Maresca but also recognises the need to adapt to the rigours of top-flight football.
“There is a balance of taking some of the things that have gone really well while tailoring it towards what I want and what we want, and the completely different challenge of the Premier League,” Cooper continued. “We’re really clear on that. We’ve been really clear on that from day one. The players will be as well.”
Cooper’s desire to establish his own identity at Leicester is clear, and he acknowledges that this will take time. However, he believes that the players are buying into his ideas and that the team will continue to improve as they become more accustomed to his methods.
“The way I’m asking the team to play is not easy,” Cooper admitted. “There are some changes to last year on the basis of what I just said. The challenge is giving all of that to the players and then supporting them in delivering and seeing how they go with it.”
As Leicester prepare for their trip to Crystal Palace, the pressure will be on Cooper and his men to prove the pundits wrong and secure a positive result. But with tough predictions from Sutton, Merson, and Shearer hanging over them, it’s clear that the Foxes face an uphill battle this weekend.