Having spent 17 months away from Leicester City with Hull City, Nigel Pearson has now made a return to the King Power Stadium and his first challenge will be to take all three points against Crystal Palace on Sunday (Leicester City 8/11, draw 5/2, Crystal Palace 4/1).
Pearson was confirmed as the Foxes boss earlier this week following the departure of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson after a less than convincing start to the Championship campaign.
Leicester currently sit in mid-table and will be eager to close down the gap on the automatic and play-off places before they get too far away in what is once again a very competitive league.
However, three points won’t be easy to come by against a Palace side who have surprised many under their relatively inexperienced manager Dougie Freedman this term.
The Eagles narrowly avoided relegation last season on the final day, however they now find themselves battling in the play-off places and a win over the Foxes would be another big step forward for the London outfit.
Palace will be boosted by the loan signing of Chris Martin, who could make his debut for the club having joined from Norwich City earlier in the week.
The striker proved with the Canaries last season that he is more than capable at Championship level and he will certainly be a danger.
Martins’ introduction will compensate for the loss of talented midfielder Jonathan Williams who sustained a broken leg on international duty with the Wales Under-21 team.
As for the Foxes, they welcome back David Nugent (9/2 – First Goalscorer) following his recovery from a hamstring injury, however Pearson will have to do without the services of suspended Sol Bamba and injured Darius Vassell.
With the return of Pearson, the Foxes should have enough quality to secure all three points this weekend.
Sunday’s other fixture in the Championship sees Bristol City make the tough trip to the New Den to take on Millwall (Millwall 4/5, draw 5/2, Bristol 7/2).
Until their 1-0 defeat to Blackpool in their last outing, the Lions looked like one of the most dangerous sides in the division, with a 3-0 and a 4-1 victory over Coventry City and Ipswich Town respectively.
Darius Henderson (4/1 – First Goalscorer) and Jay Simpson have been in decent goalscoring form and Bristol City’s defence will certainly have their work cut out for them.
Millwall will also welcome Josh Wright into their ranks after he did enough on a recent trial and will be looking to impress if he is given an opportunity by Kenny Jackett.
Bristol City will be looking for their first back-to-back win of the season following their victory of Burnley. Under manager Derek McInnes the club have turned a corner but still have not won a league game at Millwall since 1997 and they may have to wait a bit longer.
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