Odds on Conte
vs vs Watford vs West Ham vs Leicester vs Chelsea (1.30am Malaysian time)
SUNDAY Everton vs Man City Man United vs Liverpool (12am Malaysian time) favourites to reclaim the title taken from them last season.
Leicester, who were 12th in October with just two wins from seven League games, are now 15th and six points off the drop zone with only three more victories to their credit over the intervening three months.
They are also without African Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, both on African Nations Cup duty with Algeria, and Ghana midfielder Daniel Amartey.
The odds on Ranieri being the Premier League’s next managerial casualty are now 25/1 on SkyBet, with Conte the least likely at 150/1 along with Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.
Tomorrow’s match will also mark a return for N’Golo Kante, Leicester’s ever-running midfield motor last season who has played an equally impressive and important role since switching to Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham are at home to West Bromwich Albion in tomorrow’s lunchtime game and can go second, at least temporarily, if they chalk up their sixth League win in a row.
Liverpool, who have won 12 of their last 18 Premier League games but were held 2-2 at lowly Sunderland in their last match, travel the short distance to Manchester United on Sunday in the weekend’s showcase.
This will be the 50th Premier League meeting between the teams with United having won 27 of the previous 49.
Only former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard (8) has scored more goals in this League fixture than Wayne Rooney, who could become the 21st player to reach 450 career Premier League appearances should he play.
Fourth-placed Manchester City are at Everton on Sunday while Arsenal, fifth, travel to lowly Swansea City.
At the other end of the table, exEngland manager Sam Allardyce continues his trip down memory lane with struggling Crystal Palace travelling across town to his former side West Ham United.
Palace, who have picked up only one point since Allardyce replaced Alan Pardew last month, played another of the manager’s old clubs Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup last week with the replay scheduled for Selhurst Park on Tuesday.
Bottom side Hull City, under new Portuguese manager Marco Silva, host Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth tomorrow in a battle between the two youngest managers in the top flight. – Reuters