Premier League Tips: Leicester and Arsenal to one-up leaky Man City

Michael Lintorn
12 March 2016

After waiting until week ten for a first clean sheet, there has been huge defensive improvement at Leicester

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The Opta trends point to Leicester and Arsenal obtaining clean sheets this weekend as Man City are breached...

"Claudio Ranieri’s team have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six Premier League home matches."

Recommended Bet: Back Leicester to keep a clean sheet against Newcastle @ 2.56/4

Norwich v Man City (Saturday, 12:45, Sky Sports 1)

Just one team prevented Norwich from scoring in their last nine Premier League games at Carrow Road

Manchester City might be entitled to travel to East Anglia expectant of three points, yet they shouldn't be overly confident of a clean sheet, even after keeping Aston Villa quiet last weekend.

Norwich have struck four times past Liverpool and twice past West Ham in the last two months, also notching against the likes of Leicester, Arsenal and Chelsea this term, with West Brom and Tottenham the only of their 14 guests that they haven't converted against in the Premier League.

The Citizens have been vulnerable away for a while, with Opta observing that they have managed a dire two league wins in ten, and they conceded a combined eight goals across their latest two domestic trips, to Chelsea and Liverpool.

Recommended Bet: Back Man City not to keep a clean sheet @ 1.728/11

Arsenal v Watford (Sunday, 13:30, BT Sport 1)
FA Cup quarter-final

Quique Sanchez Flores' side have failed to score in each of their last three games

Arsenal might not be in their brightest form of the campaign, but their bid for a third successive FA Cup triumph - and to equal the post-war record of 16 consecutive FA Cup rounds cleared - will be boosted by the dip which has seen Watford fade from seventh at Christmas to 13th.

The main issue has been attacking, with Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney struggling to replicate the impact that they were enjoying previously, and, since the start of February, the Hornets have fired blanks in five of their six meetings with fellow Premier League teams.

They already had a problem against the elite, losing all seven clashes with the top four and netting just three times in process - their worst result since promotion being a 3-0 home reverse to the Gunners - and the hosts have been breached only twice across their last five FA Cup encounters.

Recommended Bet: Back Arsenal to keep a clean sheet @ 2.47/5

Leicester v Newcastle (Monday, 20:00, Sky Sports 1)

Claudio Ranieri's team have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six Premier League home matches

What looked like potentially the most straightforward fixture of Leicester's most important run-in ever has suddenly been made a lot more complicated by Newcastle making one of the most inspired appointments in Premier League history, somehow convincing Rafael Benitez to move to Tyneside.

The good news for the leaders is that the Spaniard's impact isn't usually immediate: he won his first league outing with a mere one of his last five employers, with three of the most recent four being shut out on his dugout debut.

Opta laud the Foxes' prospects of silencing their guests by noting that the Magpies have registered zero in a joint-high 12 top-flight contests this season, and 13 of their past 20 on the road. Ranieri's men prevailed 3-0 at St James' Park and are on a run of seven league clean sheets in 11.

Recommended Bet: Back Leicester to keep a clean sheet @ 2.56/4

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