Van Nistelrooy hints at January arrivals ahead of Brighton test

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy said he will have money available to spend in January as his side welcome Brighton to the King Power Stadium this Sunday.

The Foxes posted an impressive 3-1 win against West Ham in Van Nistelrooy’s first Premier League game in charge on Tuesday, with captain Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka finding the target.

However, with Leicester still only four points clear of safety with 13 points from 14 matches, the former Netherlands striker hinted at incomings during the winter transfer window.

“There were conversations about it before I signed. We said that there is no rush to do things and I agree with that,” Van Nistelrooy said ahead of the Brighton game.

“The squad we have is getting all of the chances to prove themselves over this month. There is time after that to make a good assessment and we make a decision in January.”

home goals pic.twitter.com/zKJ4hPqrNE

— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 6, 2024

Meanwhile, Brighton are gunning for the Champions League places, sitting fifth with 23 points.

Despite a 3-1 defeat to Fulham in their last game, Fabian Hurzeler’s side are only five points behind second-placed Chelsea.

Hurzeler, who will return to the Brighton dugout after serving a touchline suspension, acknowledged that Leicester will be a tough challenge for his side.

“They have quality, they play good football. They were very effective against West Ham. It will be interesting to see where they are,” the 31-year-old German said.

“They have had a good start [under Van Nistelrooy] so it is up to us to break that up and get back the points we lost against Fulham.”

Danny Welbeck, who has scored four league goals against Leicester, is an injury doubt for Brighton, while the Foxes will be without Facundo Buonanotte, with the loanee not eligible to face his parent club.

“Facundo is doing a great job with Leicester, he is developing well. He works hard, and he has big potential,” Hurzeler said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Jamie Vardy

Vardy remains Leicester’s biggest goal threat at the age of 37, with the captain also their top Premier League scorer this season with five goals.

He has also scored 11 goals in his last 14 league appearances against teams with Albion in their name, most recently netting against West Brom in April this year in the Championship.

Brighton – Danny Welbeck

After starting the season with six goals in nine games, Welbeck has failed to find the target in his last three outings, but he will be confident of finding the back of the net against one of his favoured opponents, should he be fit to feature.

He has scored four goals in 11 Premier League appearances against Leicester, with these strikes being worth seven points to his respective sides.

Let’s bounce back in Leicester. pic.twitter.com/RfZhMFAW8Q

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 6, 2024

MATCH PREDICTION: BRIGHTON WIN

While Brighton are favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations to win on Sunday, they have won none of their six Premier League away games against Leicester (D3 L3), with their last league victory at the King Power Stadium coming in the Championship in April 2014 (4-1).

The Seagulls have also lost five of their last six top-flight away games played on a Sunday, as many as in their previous 16 such games (W7 D4). The only exception in this current run was a 5-0 win at Sheffield United in February.

Five of Brighton’s last seven Premier League games against promoted sides have been drawn (W1 L1), including each of the last three in a row. The last team to draw four consecutive such games were Newcastle in the 2021-22 campaign.

But having won six of their first eight Premier League meetings with Brighton (D2), Leicester are now winless in their last four against the Seagulls (D2 L2).

However, the Foxes will be looking to build on their win over West Ham. They had seven big chances in their win on Tuesday in Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge, the joint-most big chances on record (since 2010-11) a team has had in their first Premier League match under a new manager, level with Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City against Newcastle (August 2013).

Van Nistelrooy will also be hoping to join Claudio Ranieri (first two) and Craig Shakespeare (first five) in winning their first two games in charge of the Foxes in the Premier League.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brighton – 52.6%

Leicester – 24.2%

Draw – 23.2%