Arsenal can temporarily re-establish a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table when they travel to meet Leicester City in Saturday’s clash at the King Power.

The Foxes failed to make their first-half dominance count in a 3-0 loss to Manchester United last weekend, while the Gunners beat Aston Villa 4-2 in one of the games of the season.

A combination of wasteful finishing and inspired goalkeeping from David de Gea prevented Leicester from making the breakthrough at Old Trafford last weekend, where even Erik ten Hag admitted that his side’s first-half performance was “rubbish”.

However, some half-time tweaks turned the tide in Man United’s favour, and the red-hot Marcus Rashford made Leicester pay for their profligacy with a brace before Jadon Sancho came off the bench to put the cherry on the icing on the cake.

Having been handed a harsh reality check after thumping Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on February 11 – Lilywhites fans would not mind their North London rivals suffering the same fate here – Leicester sit 14th in the rankings and four points clear of the drop zone with 23 games gone.

A four-game unbeaten run came to an abrupt halt as

Leicester City fell to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Manchester United last time out. It was the manner of defeat which was perhaps most surprising after the Foxes had netted eight goals in their two prior games. Boss Brendan Rodgers looked ahead to this home return in the aftermath, stating that the “supporters will be right up for it” against league leaders Arsenal.

The Foxes will need their twelfth man as they look to end a rotten four-game losing run of top-flight H2Hs against the Gunners, a streak that means they could lose five in a row for the first time in 91 years! Even if they hit the ground running in the contest, Leicester can ill afford to rest on their laurels given no side has lost more Premier League (PL) games from winning positions this season (W7, D2, L5).

That stat plays into Arsenal’s hands, who have won a joint PL-high four games from losing positions (W4, L3)! The most recent of those comeback victories came in the last round as the Gunners had to muster two equalisers before hitting a pair of goals in stoppage time to regain a two-point cushion at the peak of the table with a game in hand over Manchester City.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta praised the “character and quality” of his men following that victory before attention swiftly turned to notching up a tenth away win in one PL season for only the second time in their last eight campaigns (W9, D1, L2). What’s more, seven of those nine victories came with multi-goal margins, so don’t expect Arsenal to take their foot off the gas should they take a lead.

Players to watch: Jamie Vardy hasn’t had the most prolific league season for Leicester (G1, A4), yet he’s scored more PL goals against Arsenal (G11) than any other side. Trying to outdo him will be Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, who is on the brink of his 50th PL goal involvement for the club at just 21 years old (G26, A23).

Hot stat: Leicester haven’t won any of their last 18 top-flight games against league-leading sides (D2, L16).

Leicester City Premier League form:

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Leicester City form (all competitions):

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Arsenal Premier League form:

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Arsenal form (all competitions):

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Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Ward; Castagne, Souttar, Faes, Kristiansen; Mendy, Tielemans; Tete, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes; Iheanacho

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Xhaka; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli

Having put four past Tottenham and created numerous chances in the first half against Man United, Leicester should have no trouble breaking down a shaky Arsenal backline even without Maddison, but the Gunners are the masters at overcoming adversity.

With Rodgers’s side hardly watertight at the back either, an Arsenal crop with a taste for goals on the road can overcome any minor setbacks at the King Power to travel back to North London with another three points and an unassailable lead at the summit.