Arsenal v Leicester: Team news, predictions & odds

The game kicks off at 1945 BST at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal v Leicester: Team news

Arsenal will check on the fitness of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of the visit of Leicester.

The England midfielder suffered a foot injury during the FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City and left Wembley on crutches, but manager Arsene Wenger confirmed that was just a precaution.

David Ospina (back), Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez (both thigh) are still missing along with Santi Cazorla (Achilles), who will not play again this season.

Wes Morgan will miss Leicester's trip to Arsenal on Wednesday with a hamstring injury while Nampalys Mendy's season is over following an ankle operation.

Skipper Morgan came off late on in the Foxes' Champions League quarter-final exit to Atletico Madrid last week and midfielder Mendy has undergone surgery on a floating bone in his ankle with boss Craig Shakespeare ruling him out for the season.

Robert Huth will return after being banned for the 1-1 draw with Atletico, with Leicester going out 2-1 on aggregate, while Islam Slimani continues to be sidelined with a groin injury.

Teams

Arsenal (from): Cech, Martinez, Macey, Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Maitland-Niles, Coquelin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Walcott, Iwobi, Sanchez, Welbeck, Giroud. 

Leicester (from): Schmeichel, Hamer, Zieler, Simpson, Huth, Wasilewski, Benalouane, Chilwell, Fuchs, Drinkwater, King, Amartey, Ndidi, Gray, Mahrez, Kapustka, Albrighton, Musa, Ulloa, Vardy, Okazaki. 

Arsenal v Leicester: Manager quotes

Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)

On his future: "I work until the last day of the season for the future. Transfer targets are important for the future of the club. That (my future) is secondary, the future of the club is important."

On the chances of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain playing despite leaving Wembley on crutches: "It was precautionary. It is not a bad injury and we will test him today. Nobody was really injured after the game.

On the victory at Wembley: "Overall that win will give us a bit more confidence, I think it will convince everybody that with the right energy level, the right fighting spirit and the right togetherness we can beat everybody. For morale, yes for sure, for confidence as well. Big games give you the confidence that you can win and that is the most important thing in our job."

On their top four hopes: "It looks like we will, that has to be the target and to achieve that we have to win the next one. We have to take the energy level we showed on Sunday into the Premier League."

Craig Shakespeare (Leicester)

On the chances of Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Drinkwater staying at the club: "We have said before we don't want to be a selling club. All the players are happy here. They are a very unique group, we have created something here which is quite special, so they have said they are quite happy.

"It's again one of those things. I have no problems with players being ambitious but they are at a good club here and get looked after well. I'm sure the time will come to sit down.

"We will probably have agents knocking on the door but we've said before we don't want to be a selling club and we want to add to that."

His deal as assistant manager will continue beyond June and Shakespeare knows it cannot be allowed to drag on: "I'm sure the owners and the board are aware of that. I am in charge of pre-season. We are looking at that. I have had one meeting about recruitment, which I really enjoyed.

"Any time the club wishes to talk about recruitment or pre-season, of course I have an interest in it. Pre-season is sorted, so any things like that, that involves me, I am happy to be involved."

Arsenal v Leicester: Our prediction

By Ben Coley

It’s possible to view this game as totally inconsequential, given that Arsenal will surely finish sixth and that Leicester have pretty much completed their revised target of survival following the dismissal of Claudio Ranieri.

Arsenal remain on course for another FA Cup – albeit Chelsea stand in their way – while Leicester’s Champions League dream is over, so in terms of incentive it’s difficult to see where the edge is.

However, the Gunners have performed enough spring Houdini acts through the years to believe that a top-four finish remains within reach and that, coupled with Leicester’s generally poor away form, means the home side should oblige at what doesn’t look an unreasonable 8/13.

With Arsene Wenger’s future dominating the build-up to every game, Arsenal have at least managed to emerge from a period of abject failure with some better displays at the Emirates, where they twice fought back to draw with Manchester City before three second-half goals saw them beat West Ham with a degree of ease.

And it’s the second half which offers the best route to a bet here, with the possibility of a fairly low-key atmosphere helping support the case for a slow-burner, which will surely spring into life at some stage given that both outfits can display a slapdash approach for football’s dark art: defending.

All three goals in Arsenal’s FA Cup victory over Man City came after the hour mark, the first of three against West Ham came on 58 minutes, and even Lincoln held out until the stroke of half-time. 

There have been early goals, but under Wednesday’s circumstances there’s a straightforward case for the second half at the very least producing more than the first, which can be backed at the stock price of evens – one which fails to consider the prospect of a subdued opening.

Both league meetings between these sides last season saw more goals after the break and it’s hard to envisage a repeat of August’s nil-nil feeler, given that a draw does neither side any favours in their arbitrary aims of a top-four and a top-half finish respectively.

Plus, Leicester and their open approach on the road will be without captain Wes Morgan while if Wenger does persist with his three-man defence there are likely to be opportunities for the visitors to use their width and get the Arsenal men turning, which so often proves the key to unlocking what remains a fragile set-up.

In other words, expect goals here but it’s that first half-hour which might see a tentative Arsenal struggle to get to grips with the task at hand, thereby putting us in a position from which to relax and enjoy a glut of second-half goals.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Leicester

Arsenal v Leicester: Opta facts

o Leicester are on a 20 game winless run against Arsenal in the Premier League (D7 L13), with their only win against the Gunners coming in their first ever Premier League encounter in November 1994 (2-1 victory).

o Arsenal have won each of their last nine Premier League home encounters with Leicester City; the longest current run in the division.

o In fact, if the Gunners beat the Foxes, it will equal their longest home winning streak against a single club (10 successive wins against Everton between Jan 1997 – Sept 2005).

o Theo Walcott has found the net in three of his four Premier League appearances against Leicester, including in both home games.

o Jamie Vardy has scored Leicester City’s last three goals against Arsenal in the Premier League, scoring the opening goal twice. However, he is yet to end up on the winning side.

o Vardy has scored seven goals in 10 competitive games for Leicester under Craig Shakespeare, this after netting seven goals in 32 games in 2016-17 under Claudio Ranieri for the Foxes.

o Alexis Sánchez has now scored 19 Premier League goals this season; equalling his best-ever tally in a single league season (19 with Barcelona in 2013-14).

o Should Sánchez score another Premier League goal this season, he’ll be the fifth Arsenal player to score 20+ goals in a PL campaign after Thierry Henry (5 times), Ian Wright (2 times), Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor. Robin van Persie was the last to do this (30 goals in 2011-12).

o The Gunners will be looking to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time in over three months (Jan 22nd 2017), following their 2-1 win at Middlesbrough in their previous game.

o Leicester City have scored at least two goals in every one of their seven Premier League matches under Craig Shakespeare (17 goals in total). Their previous 17 Premier League goals came over a period of 20 matches.

Arsenal v Leicester: Sky Bet odds

Arsenal are Sky Bet’s 8/13 favourites for the victory with Leicester 19/5 while the draw is priced at 100/30. Arsene Wenger’s side were cut from 8/1 to 6/1 to secure a top-four finish after seeing Liverpool slip up while they reached the FA Cup final, which they are 11/5 to win. Alexis Sanchez heads the first goalscorer betting at 100/30 while Jamie Vardy is rated the visitors’ main threat at 7/1.

Click for Sky Bet's Arsenal v Leicester odds!