H2H: Leicester City vs Zorya Luhansk – Prediction (Europa League

Preview and Teams Comparison.

Back for his second spell at Leicester, Islam Slimani will have fond memories of the ‘Foxes’ last European campaign when he netted their first goal at home. Vladyslav Kochergin has been Zorya’s first goalscorer in three of their last four games, including a 2-2 draw with Shakhtar. Zorya’s last five UEL away games all saw both teams score. They also produced an average of 1.8 match goals after the 60th minute.

Leicester Insights.

Leicester City enter this clash as big favourites, in what is their first ever appearance in a UEFA Europa League (UEL) group stage. Yet this milestone may have come at the wrong time for the ‘Foxes’ who have lost ‘to nil’ in consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since February 2017. However, their last European involvement in 2016/17 saw them reach the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-finals, in a campaign that saw Leicester go undefeated at home (W4, D1) and lead at HT in all four wins. Furthermore, manager Brendon Rodgers brings UEL pedigree to the home side, having guided Celtic and Liverpool to the knockouts in his previous two UEL group stage campaigns.

Zorya Luhansk Insights.

Zorya Luhansk might not be a name typically associated with UEFA competition, but this will be their seventh successive season involving European football. However, this is still only their third appearance at this UEL stage, and they’ve picked up just eight of a possible 36 points across their previous two group stage campaigns (W2, D2, L8). In fact, all eight group stage defeats the visitors have experienced came ‘to nil’ (six by a 2-0 scoreline), two of which were against Manchester United – the only English side Zorya have faced in European competition. Hopeful fans may point to their current four-game domestic league run however (W1, D3), which includes draws against Ukrainian heavyweights and 2020/21 UCL participants Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk.