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Leicester City made a fast move to bring in Brendan Rodgers, who watched from the stands as his new team won at home against Brighton. A solid 2-1 win put in place by caretakers Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler.

The team selected against Brighton will probably be the same against Watford, with those players who contributed well, getting a chance to bring home another good performance at Vicarage Road tomorrow.

Watford away is not an easy task and espacially Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu are two to look out for. Both have been in good form, not counting the last performance at Anfield, defeated 5-0 by Liverpool.

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Watford are as we said on a good run and still running in the FA Cup, reaching the quarter finals after a win away to QPR. They will be up against Crystal Palace at home and can get into the semi’s of that tournament.

Former Leicester City loan player Tom Cleverley is very much involved in the happenings at Watford, and could be in the starting line-up tomorrow, coming on as a sub against Liverpool.

Watford are currently 8th in the table and on 40 points and of course one of the teams to beat in the race for being “best of the rest”, and finishing 7th, and then most certainly get a chance to play in Europe next season.

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Brendan Rodgers will be back at the club he once was in charge of, being at Vicarage Road and Watford from November 2008 to May 2009. He had a relatively good time there securing their League Championship status by ending 13th, but when Swansea called straight after the season he decided to “swop” and move to Wales.

The move for Brendan Rodgers happened quickly and many has questioned his reason for quitting a club fighting for three domestic titles north of the boarder, being in charge of one of the greatest brands in football.

The fact that he is doing the total opposite of Martin O’Neill, and quitting Celtic for Leicester is showing that the club is challenging and wants to take a place in the top of English football, be counted and a force with such a type of manager.

The game will be a close affair and hopefully Leicester will come away with something, a draw would be fine, a win would be fantastic and we all hope that Brendan Rodgers comes away from it with a smile on his face.

Referee,
Jon Moss, hopefully not have to deal with a goalkeeper who are not leaving the field

Last Meeting, 11 v. 11
Home: 01.12.17, 2-0, Win, Premier League
Away: 26.12.17, 1-2, Defeat, Premier League

Best Bet,
Our prediction is a 1-1 draw

Predicted Leicester City line-up,
System: 4-4-1-1, Schmeichel – Pereira, Maguire, Evans, Chilwell – Ndidi, Tielemans, Barnes, Gray – Maddison – Vardy

Sidellined,
Watford: Femenia, Britos
Leicester: Albrighton, Amartey

Fun Fact,
Watford ware the opponents in the 2012-13 play-off’s and in both games Danny Drinkwater, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy were all subs, Kane and Drinkwater came on home and away, while Vardy was an unused sub on both occasions.

In Both Camps,
Tom Cleverley is today part of the Watford squad, and he was playing at Leicester City on loan in the League 1 season back in 2008-09. Other names that comes to mind are Jordan Stewart, Wayne Brown, Bobby Svarc, Steve Sims, Brian Greenhalgh and Trevor Benjamin. Brendan Rodgers is not the first man to be in management at Leicester and Watford, Dave Bassett has also been in both camps.

The big duel,
Maguire v. Deeney, this duel is the one winning the match, but there are of course one big other duel in the game and that is to find the way to stop Deleufeu who is a pacy man and with two so offensive full backs as Leicester have in Pereira and Chilwell, the defensive work for the Leicester duo will be of crucial importance.

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After a long break, without any FA Cup games and really being able to prepare and return to winning ways, Claude Puel must satisfy fans and not “pity” himself as he did in the press conference. It’s obvious that the manager is in a collision with fans.

There are still many in the fanbase that believe Claude Puel will bring this into place and hopefully be able to win the next games coming up, as they are easier and should be possible to bring home points from. But as we have seen recent results against Fulham and Cardiff shows that no games are easy in the Premier League.

Crystal Palace are full of confidence after a great result in the FA Cup reaching the quarter finals and Roy Hodgson has a great record against Leicester City, so this is no walk in the park.

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Leicester City will of course be without Marc Albrighton and Daniel Amartey, Nampalys Mendy is also uncertain, but hopefully the team will be as strong as we would like it to be. Hopefully Puel will stick to a plan that works, but what worries TCF is the lack of continuity and changes over and over again.

There are also doubt about Ben Chilwell and James Maddison who could miss the game, both are assessed before the game, but reported to be in the frame for a starting position.

If a manager makes a bold move to shake things up, as Puel did against Spurs, and you get away with it and gets a good result, then you are ok, but if you do bold moves and they are not working and you have to go back to basics, then you are lost.

There are of course different opinions in the fanbase about the Puel future, but he certainly need to get results now and until the end of the season to change the atmosphere at home games.

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Crystal Palace will be without a few key players but of course you need to look out for Zaha and Benteke, both quality forwards. With Batshuayi also available it’s strong strike force to battle with, but hopefully Puel will find a good blend that will keep this group quiet.

A key is to win the midfield and against Palace who usually use three in the center we would prefer to see Leicester City also in this combination, but Puel is often playing with Maddison just behind the top forward who we certainly hope is Jamie Vardy in this game.

If you are able to transport the ball fast and use the flanks a lot, then you can get away with a four men midfield, but it is a tough battle for those two working in the center. We believe that Puel will stick to his plan and play 4-4-1-1 and try to win the game by dominating.

If you look at form, Palace is the clear winner, with three wins and two draws from their last five games, Leicester City has a totally different track record, four defeats and one draw.

Referee,
Anthony Taylor, hopefully doing his job in a perfect way

Last Meeting, 11 v. 11
Home: 23.12.17, 0-3, Draw, Premier League
Away: 15.12.18, 0-1, Defeat, Premier League

Best Bet,
Our prediction is a 1-1 draw

Predicted Leicester City line-up,
System: 4-4-1-1, Schmeichel – Pereira, Maguire, Evans, Chilwell – Ndidi, Tielemans, Ghezzal, Gray – Maddison – Vardy

Fun Fact,
Alan Birchenall was the first player to be transferred three times for the fee of £100 000, and his move from Palace to Leicester was the third. It all happened back in 1971. Steve Claridge had a life at both Palace and Leicester and scored that fantastic winner of the 1996 Play off-final  at Wembley.

In Both Camps,
Jeffrey Schlupp is today a proven example and will most certainly be in the line-up on Saturday. Steve Claridge, Alan Birchenall, Steve Kember and Damien Delaney are other players who used to be eagles and foxes. Peter Taylor, Ian Holloway and Dave Bassett are all former managers in both camps.

The big duel,
Pereira v. Zaha, Puel might go for security and could play Simpson, but if he is not, then Pereira is in a very important role this Saturday, and his attacking style might be a risk against a player like Zaha that likes to attack and will be often alone, we will just wait and see