Preview

 

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Club Friendlies 1 clash between Leicester City and Notts County, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Leicester City will kick off their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign with a pre-season friendly against National League outfit Notts County on Saturday afternoon.

The Foxes are building towards the Premier League opener against Brentford on August 7, while Notts County will start their National League season at home to Maidenhead United on August 6.

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Match preview

Leicester finished eighth in the Premier League last season, meaning that there will be no European football at the King Power Stadium during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Foxes reached the semi-finals of last season's Europa Conference League, having failed to progress through the Europa League group stage, while they made the fourth round of the FA Cup and quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

Leicester will be bidding to return to European football for the 2023-24 campaign, and they have a busy pre-season schedule over the next few weeks, taking on Notts County, OH Leuven, Hull City, Derby County, Preston North End and Sevilla in preparation for the new season.

Brendan Rodgers's side will then open their new Premier League campaign at home to Brentford on August 7, while they will also face Arsenal, Southampton and Chelsea in the first month of the season.

Leicester are yet to make a first-team signing this summer, while it has also been very quiet on the outgoings front, but there is expected to be plenty of movement before the end of the window.

Notts County, meanwhile, finished fifth in the National League last season, which saw them earn a spot in the playoff quarter-finals, but they lost 2-1 to Grimsby Town after extra-time.

As a result, the Magpies will again play in the fifth tier of English football next season, which has been the case since their relegation from the Football League in 2019.

Notts County opened their preparations for the new campaign with a 5-1 victory over Basford United in a friendly on July 5, and they will also take on Cambridge United, Boston United, Nottingham Forest and York City in pre-season games before opening their National League campaign against Maidenhead United on August 6.

Luke Williams's side have already brought in a number of players on free transfers this summer, including Geraldo Bajrami and Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, while they have also signed central defender Aden Baldwin following his release from MK Dons.

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Team News

Leicester will hope that Wilfred Ndidi can play some minutes on Saturday, with the midfielder recovering from a serious knee injury, but it would be a surprise to see him in from the start.

The likes of Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Marc Albrighton have been with the Foxes since the start of pre-season, and all four are expected to start here.

An experienced side should also include Caglar Soyuncu and Ricardo Pereira, with Rodgers set to select a strong XI for the opening game of pre-season.

Ruben Rodrigues, Macaulay Langstaff, Cedwyn Scott and Kyle Cameron were on the scoresheet in Notts County's victory over Basford last time out, with head coach Williams making full use of his squad.

There are again expected to be wholesale changes throughout this contest, with Baldwin potentially featuring after missing out last time out due to a slight injury, while James Morton, who is on trial at the club, could receive some more minutes.

Kairo Mitchell is expected to start at the tip of the attack for the National League side, while James O'Brien is likely to feature in the middle of midfield.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Ricardo, Fofana, Soyuncu, Justin; Choudhury, Dewsbury-Hall; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy

Notts County possible starting lineup:
Slocombe; Chicksen, Rawlinson, Brindley; Taylor, Adebayo-Rowling; O'Brien, Palmer, Austin, Rodrigues; Mitchell

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We say: Leicester City 3-1 Notts County

Notts County will be competitive opposition for Leicester this weekend, and the visitors are slightly ahead of Rodgers's team in terms of preparation for the new campaign. However, we are expecting the Foxes to have too much quality for their National League opponents on Saturday afternoon.

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