At the end of it all, Leicester shouldn’t feel too bad about today: they’ll be disappointed, but they played well, and did enough to win. Twenty-two shots on goal; they just couldn’t find a winner. Tottenham have the edge now, though: they can go top with victory at West Ham tomorrow.
We’re going to wrap this blog up now – we could do with a can of Coke and a cigarette. Thanks for reading. Bye.
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Elsewhere, Chelsea have just beaten Norwich 2-1; Aston Villa lost 3-1 at home to Everton, Bournemouth beat Saints 2-0, and Sunderland and Crystal Palace shared a 2-2 draw.
Well, Leicester drop two points, but they didn’t do much wrong there. They played as they always do: with intensity, with heart, and with skill in pockets, but they just couldn’t find a winner. Craig Gardner bent a brilliant free-kick into the top corner after 50 minutes to make it 2-2, and though Leicester had the lion’s share of the ball thereafter, they just couldn’t force it over the line. Vardy and Okazaki hit the bar, and Morgan, Mahrez and Ulloa went close at the end, but it just wouldn’t go in. West Brom played pretty well, but Leicester had the chances to win it, and they couldn’t. Will they look back on that game as the moment it all went wrong? I do hope not.
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Full-time: Leicester 2-2 West Brom
That’s it!
90 min +4: One last chance, and how did that not go in from Ulloa?! Amazing! Mahrez headed it back across goal, and Ulloa just couldn’t get a touch! What a huge chance at the end!
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90 min +3: Seconds left. Can Leicester get a late winner?
90 min +2: Time-wasting double change from West Brom: Sandro and Anichebe on for Rondon and Sessegnon.
90 min +1: Mahrez at the back post! He was totally free, but went for the acrobatic volley instead of heading it back across goal, and it’s high over the bar! Oh, Riyad.
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90 min: Everyone is up, and it’s just about headed behind for a corner.
89 min: Not long now. Sessgnon pushes Mahrez and it’s another free kick in a damgerous position. Three added minutes.
88 min: Headed clear again by West Brom! They’ve been so determined in defence. It’s played back in for Morgan, but he’s eased off it, and it’s through for a goal kick.
Just looking back at that Morgan chance: he absolutely leathered it at goal, but just too straight. Either side of the goalie and it was 3-2.
87 min: Defeat isn’t terminal here, but what Leicester wouldn’t give for three points. Yacob, finally, is booked for a snide push on Mahrez as he looked to break. Set piece, 25 yards from goal, and this is a chance.
86 min: Oh, is that a penalty? No, it’s right on the edge, right-hand side, for a push on Mahrez, I think. Mahrez whips it in, and Olsson, was it, cranes his neck to flick it clear. Leicester really pressing here.
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85 min: Huth and Morgan come forward, but Olsson head clear. Then Morgan forces Foster into a brilliant save! It bounced around in the box, and Morgan just smashed it at goal – but Foster came up big! Big moment.
84 min: Leicester exerting some pressure here: West Brom are strung out in a line across the box. Drinkwater gets free on the left, and wins a corner. This is tense!
83 min: Leicester’s play has been good in parts today: they’ve cut West Brom open on occasion, but at other times they’ve looked disjointed. Their best moments have tended to involve Mahrez, however. Morgan, in an unfamiliar position on the right, thinks he’s won a corner, but the ref says goal kick! Boos from the crowd: I think Morgan had a point.
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82 min: Gray tries to take on Chester when he might have been better just putting it in the box, and it comes to naught. The Leicester fans are getting anxious. Time’s ticking.
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79 min: A big 10 minutes for Leicester, who are still attacking with pace and verve. Brilliant link-up between Schlupp and Mahrez, who has now switched to the left, and Schlupp’s low cross finds Vardy – but he gets his shot wrong! It never looked like he got his feet set, and it’s easily cleared.
78 min: Here comes that Leicester change: Demarai Gray on for Christian Fuchs. Schlupp, presumably, will go to left-back.
77 min: Headed clear, and then Vardy is penalised for a foul. Free kick to West Brom.
76 min: Schlupp is caught late, but Mark Clattenburg plays a good advantage, and Leicester maintain their momentum, but Mahrez’s pass for Fuchs is slightly askew, and West Brom put it out for a corner. But that’s a lovely touch from Vardy for Schlupp, and he’s free on the left – but he can’t find a teammate! Corner.
74 min: Gardner with yet another shot from distance. Hit nicely – he really does ping them, doesn’t he? – but it’s always heading over the bar.
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73 min: Demarai Gray is getting ready to come on. Ranieri looks slightly nervy on the touchline. There’s still plenty of time for a winner, however.
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72 min: Leicester have about 20 minutes left. If they don’t win tonight, it’ll leave the door open for Tottenham, who play at West Ham on Wednesday.
71 min: But here come West Brom, with Sessegnon, and Simpson makes an ill-advised challenge from behind. Free kick to the visitors, and another chance to cause mayhem. Tapped short to Gardner, who hits it well, but it’s wide. Schmeichel didn’t move, which made it look closer than it really was, but it was always heading past the post.
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70 min: This game is so stretched – it’s wonderful to watch. Vardy beats McAuley to it, even though it looked as though he shoved the defender over, advances into the area, and Foster saves with his feet! From the corner, Huth heads wide when he might have hit the target.
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68 min: Schlupp has been extremely positive since his introduction, and has attacked Dawson several times on this left side. His ball in reaches Mahrez, but he can’t make it count. A chance to draw breath.
66 min: Leicester surge forward again and win a corner down the left. Lovely ball from Fuchs, and Mahrez can’t quite connect with it, and Drinkwater’s shot from outside the box is well wide.
65 min: Schlupp goes close! Vardy burned McAuley down the left, fed Sclupp, and his shot took a deflection – but Foster clung on. Now Rondon forces a corner at the other end. This is really end-to-end. And Rondon puts it over from six yards! Schmeichel couldn’t hold the corner, it was played back in, and Rondon turned it goalwards – but got too much on it! Massive chance for the Baggies.
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63 min: Flicked on by Olsson, but it’s wide, and Leicester can breathe.
Now a double change for the hosts: Ulloa and Schlupp on for Okazaki and Albrighton.
62 min: Leicester do just enough to hack it clear, but West Brom throw it back in, and it’s another corner. Great stuff from West Brom, this.
61 min: Rondon is fouled 40 yards from goal. Gardner’s ball in, and Morgan heads behind. Corner to West Brom.
59 min: This game has been so entertaining. And Leicester have now hit the crossbar twice! I hope they don’t live to rue those misses.
Ezra Finkelstein has a suggestion for Claudio Ranieri: “Bring on Ulloa!”
57 min: Gardner nearly puts it into his own net! That was close, but he did enough to shuffle it behind. Corner to Leicester, but West Brom defend this properly, and it’s hacked clear.
55 min: Panic in the West Brom defence. Albrighton’s ball in nearly falls to Okazaki, and then Okazaki again – and it’s off the bar! So unlucky from the Japanese: he got up brilliantly and did everything right – but was denied by the woodwork! There are more goals in this, for sure. It’s all happening.
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53 min: That was a superb free kick from Gardner, but the handball by Mahrez was needless. A cheap one to give away, and Leicester have been punished.
Gardner tries to replicate his goal with a shot from 25 yards, but it’s well wide.
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51 min: Vardy goes between Dawson and McAuley, and falls over in the box … but Mark Clattenburg says no penalty! It was probably the right call: it looked as though the ball just got away from the Leicester striker.
50 min: That’s a wonderful free kick from Gardner. We’ve seen him smash them from that range, but that was a curler of real quality: up and over the wall, right into the top corner. Schmeichel didn’t move. Superb technique. Game on!
GOAL! Leicester 2-2 West Brom (Gardner 49)
Brilliant!
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48 min: Mahrez handles right on the edge of his own box, and this is a very good area for West Brom. Craig Gardner fancies a crack.
47 min: Slack pass from Berahino, and Mahrez looked to get on to it – but Olsson came across and blocked him off. No free kick, but Olsson didn’t play the ball.
We're back!
46 min: Leicester get the ball rolling, and immediately look for Mahrez on the right. It’s out of play. No changes for either side.
That’s Andy King’s first Premier League goal of the season, incidentally. Try to catch it on highlights if you can: a lovely, easy strike past Foster, and the first-time heel pass from Mahrez was exquisite.
By contrast, Drinkwater’s goal was a lucky one: he didn’t strike it cleanly, but Olsson stuck out a lazy leg, and it just looped up over Foster, who clutched thin air.
Bournemouth lead 1-0 in the day’s other featured match. Catch up on the action with Scott Murray:
A nice end to a very decent 45 minutes: West Brom went ahead with a rare attack, and Leicester looked lost for 10 or so minutes afterwards, but then they composed themselves, started to play, and they deserve to be ahead. Drinkwater’s equaliser was lucky, but King’s go-ahead goal was excellent, and the set-up from Mahrez was a touch of class. Leicester might even be further ahead: Vardy hit the bar and Okazaki went close. West Brom have shown an intermittent threat, but Leicester are on top.
Half-time: Leicester 2-1 West Brom
And that’s the whistle.
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45 min: From the left, Albrighton looked long for Mahrez, and the Algerian’s back-flick was as deft as a snowflake, straight into the path of King, who just passed it beyond Foster into the net! A lovely silken touch from Mahrez and a very good finish: King might have blasted that, but instead just eased it past the goalkeeper. Super stuff.
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GOAL! Leicester 2-1 West Brom (King 45)
That’s a lovely goal – and Leicester lead!
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44 min: Gardner looks for Rondon as West Brom break, but the Venezuelan had gone too early, and he’s whistled for offside.
43 min: Albrighton attacks Dawson and fires in a low cross, but Foster gathers comfortably. Sessegnon, incidentally, delivered a lovely telling cross just now at the other end, but no West Brom player attacked it with sufficient gusto.
42 min: West Brom do pose a threat when they attack, but they’re happy enough to sit in their defensive shape for the time being.
40 min: Over the bar from Mahrez. The Algerian found space, and ran at Olsson, but couldn’t make up his mind whether to pass or shoot, and his effort was high.
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37 min: West Brom are pressing here, but that’s a poor cross from Chester, who had to cut inside on his right foot rather than whipping it in from the left. But that’s good defending from the left-back to stop Mahrez, who had gone off on one of his mazy dribbles.
35 min: Vardy hits the bar! Drinkwater did brilliantly on the left side, beat McAuley and stood up a great cross – but Vardy smashed a header flush against the bar! That was unlucky: Vardy was second favourite to win it, but got up above Olsson, I think it was, and Foster was beaten. West Brom got lucky!
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34 min: You’ll thank me for pointing out that Leicester are the first team to score 50 goals in the Premier League this season.
Ooh, the reason Sessegnon was so upset was that Fuchs came in by the touchline and absolutely clattered him with his studs up. That was a very, very poor challenge, so you can understand Sessegnon’s upset. No card for Fuchs, but it should have been. It was reckless.
32 min: Sessegnon is booked for going crazy at the linseman over some imagined injustice or other. He needs to cool it. That could easily been red. Fletcher got in to calm things down, but Sessegnon was furious.
31 min: The corner was taken short, and King found Drinkwater in masses of space about 25 yards out, so he smashed one at goal – and even though he didn’t strike it especially cleanly, it looped up off Olsson and squirmed past Foster. Foster couldn’t do much about it, but Olsson’s attempt at a block was mediocre at best. Leicester don’t care, though! They’re level.
GOAL! Leicester 1-1 West Brom (Drinkwater 30)
A huge deflection, and Leicester are level!
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30 min: Cleared by West Brom, but Berahino trips Drinkwater, and it’s another chance for Leicester to get the ball in the box. Headed out by Dawson for another corner!
29 min: Albrighton wanted a penalty after he smashed the ball at Gardner, but no whistle from Clattenburg. It’s another corner, though.
28 min: Albrighton pops up on the right flank, and breezes past Olsson, but Foster is out quickly to smother. Corner. Better from the hosts.
26 min: Chance for Vardy! Mahrez crossed, and Vardy was free in the box, but he just couldn’t get the power, or indeed the direction, and his header was straight at Foster. Vardy might have done better there, though: he was unmarked 10 yards from goal.
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25 min: But that’s much better, and Drinkwater combines nicely with Mahrez down the right. His cross is cut out, but Leicester come again, and Mahrez is into the box – he can’t quite make the cross ount, though, and West Brom escape.
23 min: Leicester have just gone off the boil a bit. West Brom’s midfield four are doing very well to chase and harry and break things up.
21 min: Not much from Vardy so far. As always, he’s playing right on the shoulder of the centre-halves, but West Brom are defending so deep that he’s finding it difficult to run in behind. A long switch from Fuchs, but it’s out of play for a goal kick.
20 min: Oh, unlucky Mahrez: a sublime touch to take it past Chester by the right touchline, but it just ran out of play. Mahrez has shown one or two very nice pieces of skill already.
19 min: We saw Good Fletcher a few minutes ago, but that was Bad Fletcher: he dwelled on the ball and was dispossessed by Okazaki, who ran forward and then slammed it high over the bar with his left foot. A total miscue from a promising position.
18 min: To their credit, Leicester have continued to press and look for openings. West Brom happy to sit deep at the moment.
15 min: So what do West Brom do now? Against Everton, they shut up shop, and practically crawled over the line to get the three points. But they might be more willing to threaten on the counter here – especially as Rondon showed he’s got the beating of Huth.
13 min: A big shock, that, but Leicester are back on the attack, and it’s a corner. Albrighton’s ball in, headed back in by Huth, and Okazaki should score! The Japanese striker just nipped in front of Foster from Huth’s nod-down, and tried to flick it with his heel, but he put it over! Once Okazaki got there, he probably should have scored. Leicester have responded well.
12 min: Well, Rondon gets the goal, but Darren Fletcher should get all the credit: it was his fabulous pass that sent Rondon through, and the striker just barged Huth off it and slotted under Schmeichel’s legs. Rondon did really well to outmuscle the centre-back, and he kept his cool in front of goal, but that was a seriously good through ball from Fletcher. In their first attack, West Brom lead!
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GOAL! Leicester 0-1 West Brom (Rondon 11)
How about that!
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10 min: Over the bar from King! The set piece was played in, and King found himself all alone at the back post – only to lift his shot miles over. A decent chance, that.
9 min: Mahrez shimmies inside, and gets away from three in lovely easy style, and is hacked by Yacob. Free kick to Leicester, and that should be a booking. No card from Mark Clattenburg, but that was cynical. A let-off for the Argentinian.
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7 min: First spell of possession for the visitors, in red shirts, black shorts and black socks. Huth puts it out for a throw in that uncomplicated fashion of his, but from the throw-in, Sessegnon is offside.
5 min: Leicester firmly on top, and the home fans really are making a racket with their cardboard clap-banners. Are they even more annoying than the vuvuzela?
3 min: Morgan wins the first header, but Leicester can’t profit from the second. This is serious early pressure from Leicester, though: they’ve really pinned West Brom back in their own box.
2 min: First glimpse of Mahrez, and now Okazaki is into the area, but his cross is headed clear. West Brom can’t clear, though, and Albrighton slings it in from the left side. Headed out for a throw, back in by Fuchs, and now a corner, conceded by Fletcher. Excellent early start from the hosts.
And we're off!
1 min: We’re under way, and immediately Jon Champion ponders the question on everyone’s lips: “Are Leicester Red Rum, or Devon Loch?” Andy Townsend chortles appreciatively.
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Jamie Vardy has 19 Premier League goals. I’m betting on him to get another tonight.
We’re about four minutes away. Teams are in the tunnel, and the KP Stadium is loud.
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Having said that, I think Leicester might find it tricky tonight. Can they pierce West Brom’s low block? Lots rests on Mahrez: I thought he was the outstanding performer against Norwich, and maybe he and Simpson can double up for a two-on-one against Chester, who’s not the most natural left-back.
Totally worthless and almost incorrect prediction: 2-1 Leicester.
Three points tonight would be just the tonic for Leicester. It’d send them five points clear of Tottenham, who face a difficult away match at West Ham on Wednesday. But anything less than a home win would give Spurs, Arsenal and Man City a sniff: Leicester, with only one loss in nine, really need to keep winning. Life’s tough at the top!
Leicester might miss N’Golo Kante this evening:
111 - N'Golo Kanté has made more tackles (111) and interceptions (111) than any other Premier League player in 2015-16. Hamstrung.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 29, 2016
Tony Pulis wants Leicester to win the league. “We know it’s going to be a tough night,” the Baggies manager just told Alistair Mann. “Apart from this game, I hope Leicester to go on to win the title.”
Scott Murray has all the latest on the big one from Wessex: follow Bournemouth v Southampton here!
Leicester have four eminently winnable games in March: West Brom at home, Watford away, Newcastle at home and Palace away. In April: Southampton at home, Sunderland away, West Ham at home and Swansea at home. Things get tricker in May, with a trip to Old Trafford followed by a home game with Everton, but what a chance to win the title at Stamford Bridge on the final day. They really can do this, can’t they?
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Ranieri: Tottenham are favourites
“Everyone is speaking about Leicester but nobody about Tottenham,” the Leicester coach said on Monday. “Tottenham, in my opinion, are favourites. When they defend and when they attack, they know what they want.
“We are the surprise, that is fantastic, a good energy, but if we are realistic the real competitors are Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham.”
A couple of changes for Leicester: Danny Simpson comes back in at right-back for Daniel Amartey, who did well on debut against Norwich, and Andy King replaces the injured Kante in midfield. Leo Ulloa has to make do with a place on the bench.
For the Baggies, it’s the same team that started against Palace – minus Chris Brunt, who injured his knee just before half-time and was replaced by James Chester. Chester starts at left-back, so West Brom basically line up with four central defenders across the back.
Tonight's teams
Leicester: Schmeichel, Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs, Mahrez, Drinkwater, King, Albrighton, Okazaki, Vardy. Subs: Amartey, Schlupp, Gray, Ulloa, Wasilewski, Schwarzer, Inler.
West Brom: Foster, Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Chester, Sessegnon, Fletcher, Yacob, Gardner, Rondon, Berahino. Subs: Anichebe, Myhill, McClean, Gamboa, Lambert, Pritchard, Sandro.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Hello and welcome
Forget Richard III, crisps and Adrian Mole: for the good citizens of Leicester, these days it’s all about football. Last year’s relegation candidates are this year’s title frontrunners, and as the season winds its way into March, Leicester are top of the league, two points clear of Spurs and five ahead of Arsenal with just 11 games to play. No one has yet worked out how to stop them, and their claim to the title is as strong as anyone’s. By the end of this season, Leicester City could be champions of England for the first time in their history.
Could they really do it? Their run-in is generous, the cups present zero distractions, and Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy remain in hot form. But they’ll have to play much better than they did against Norwich on Saturday, when Leo Ulloa’s last-minute tap-in gave them a 1-0 win they barely deserved. N’Golo Kante, midfield trojan, is missing for two games, and that could present a problem: Kante’s been brilliant all season.
Today they play West Brom in a hot Midlands fixture that 20 years ago could have been the weekend’s big game on the Central Match Live. The Leicester hardcore are expecting a home win, but West Brom are on a mini-run of their own, with two straight Premier League victories: a 1-0 at Everton built on a big, defensive wall, and a 3-2 home win over Palace, where they threw moderate caution to the wind and were three up in half an hour. The Baggies can cause Leicester trouble, especially with Saido Berahino and Tony Pulis having put a temporary stoppage to their season-long transfer quarrel.
Kick off is 7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm ET. It should be good.
Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, why not read Stuart James’s assessment of where Saturday’s narrow win over Norwich leaves Leicester’s title bid?
Going for the jugular once ended up costing Claudio Ranieri the chance to win the Champions League with Chelsea but these days he rarely gets a tactical decision wrong and so it proved against Norwich when the Tinkerman-turned-Thinkerman put all his chips on blue and walked away with three points.
With the game goalless, only 11 minutes remaining and Leicester running out of ideas as to how to break down a resilient and disciplined Norwich, Ranieri took the view it was time to twist not stick and replaced Daniel Amartey, a right-back, with Leonardo Ulloa, a centre-forward.
Marc Albrighton, whose crossing had been so disappointing in the previous 89 minutes, finally delivered the low, inviting centre Ranieri had been demanding. “When he received the ball I was saying: ‘Cross on the floor, cross on the floor,’ because they are very good in the air” and Ulloa, following the faintest of touches from Jamie Vardy, was in the right place at the right time to convert.
