Match ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Leicester City 0.
WolvesWolverhampton Wanderers0LeicesterLeicester City0
Leicester City's outside hopes of winning the Premier League title suffered a blow after being held to a goalless draw at Midlands rivals Wolves.
Brendan Rodgers' side lie in third place, seven points adrift of league leaders Manchester City, who also have a further game in hand.
The visitors have an excellent away record this season but were flat for large periods of the contest and failed to fully test Rui Patricio.
The Wolves goalkeeper gathered a couple of drives from James Maddison, but the efforts were from range and kept out comfortably.
Striker Jamie Vardy made his return from injury on the hour mark and almost won it in time added on but headed wide from a promising position.
Wolves had just one shot on target throughout the game though it was the best chance for either side - substitute Fabio Silva's low strike from close range was superbly kept out by Kasper Schmeichel at full stretch.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side defeated Arsenal last time out but have now won just once in 10 league games and remain 14th in the table.
Lacklustre Leicester held
Leicester stunned English football by claiming a shock Premier League title only five years ago, but will feel this was a missed opportunity in their quest to repeat the feat.
Rodgers' side extended their run to one defeat in 10 games, but failed to draw level on points with second-placed Manchester United, who were held late on at home by Everton on Saturday.
The draw means Leicester have collected 27 points on their travels this season, the joint most alongside the Red Devils, but a lacklustre showing in front of goal means they failed to score away from home for just the second time this campaign.
Playmaker Maddison attempted to weave his magic but was restricted to strikes from distance, while Kelechi Iheanacho smashed wide from an angle.
Harvey Barnes had a low shot brilliantly blocked by Max Kilman and Vardy - who missed three games because of hernia surgery - almost made a dramatic impact on his return but sent a header wide in the 92nd minute.
Scoring issues for Wolves
Wolves have twice finished seventh since their return to the Premier League in 2018 and are performing below the lofty standards they have set themselves.
Nuno's side have scored just 23 times in as many games this season, failing to net for the eighth time, and are missing the presence of talismanic striker Raul Jimenez in the opposition area.
Pedro Neto and Adama Traore often got the better of their opposing full-backs but were unable to find a team-mate with their final pass, while January signing Willian Jose barely had a sniff.
Ruben Neves twice blazed over from decent positions in the first half and they could have netted when the ball fell for Silva eight yards out, but his side-footed shot was superbly diverted away by Schmeichel's outstretched foot.
Another shutout - the stats
- Of the 589 fixtures to have been played 5+ times in the Premier League, Leicester v Wolves has had the highest proportion finish goalless (50%), with four of their eight meetings in the competition ending 0-0.
- Wolves have won just one of their past 10 Premier League games (D4 L5), failing to score in three of their past four in the competition.
- Leicester have kept five clean sheets in 12 away league outings this season, as many as they managed in the whole of 2019-20.
- This was Wolves' first clean sheet in eight home league games since their 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in October.
- Wolves' tally of 27 points from 23 league games this season is their lowest return at this stage since their promotion in 2018, five fewer than they had after 23 matches in 2018-19 (32) and seven fewer than last term (34).
What's next?
Both sides are in FA Cup fifth-round action during the week. Leicester are at home to Brighton on Wednesday (19:30 GMT), before Wolves host Southampton on Thursday (17:30).
Player of the match
SchmeichelKasper Schmeichel
with an average of 7.17
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Avg
- Squad number7Player namePedro NetoAverage rating
7.07
- Squad number37Player nameTraoréAverage rating
6.73
- Squad number8Player nameRúben NevesAverage rating
6.48
- Squad number11Player nameRui PatrícioAverage rating
6.37
- Squad number16Player nameCoadyAverage rating
6.35
- Squad number28Player nameJoão MoutinhoAverage rating
6.30
- Squad number49Player nameKilmanAverage rating
6.30
- Squad number19Player nameJonnyAverage rating
6.28
- Squad number32Player nameDendonckerAverage rating
6.18
- Squad number22Player nameNélson SemedoAverage rating
6.02
- Squad number12Player nameWillian JoséAverage rating
5.77
- Squad number2Player nameHoeverAverage rating
5.69
- Squad number17Player nameFábio SilvaAverage rating
5.32
- Squad number18Player nameGibbs-WhiteAverage rating
4.97
Leicester City
Avg
- Squad number1Player nameSchmeichelAverage rating
7.17
- Squad number8Player nameTielemansAverage rating
6.00
- Squad number2Player nameJustinAverage rating
5.97
- Squad number10Player nameMaddisonAverage rating
5.49
- Squad number21Player nameRicardo PereiraAverage rating
5.37
- Squad number20Player nameChoudhuryAverage rating
5.36
- Squad number6Player nameEvansAverage rating
5.35
- Squad number4Player nameSöyüncüAverage rating
5.26
- Squad number14Player nameIheanachoAverage rating
5.02
- Squad number15Player nameBarnesAverage rating
4.98
- Squad number9Player nameVardyAverage rating
4.88
- Squad number11Player nameAlbrightonAverage rating
4.81
- Squad number17Player nameAyoze PérezAverage rating
4.64
Line-ups
Wolves
Formation 3-4-3
- 11Rui Patrício
- 32Dendoncker
- 16Coady
- 49Kilman
- 22Nélson Semedo
- 8NevesBooked at 45mins
- 28João Moutinho
- 19Castro OttoSubstituted forHoeverat 45'minutes
- 37Traoré
- 12Da SilvaSubstituted forFábio Silvaat 61'minutes
- 7NetoSubstituted forGibbs-Whiteat 88'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Hoever
- 17Fábio Silva
- 18Gibbs-White
- 20Vitinha
- 21Ruddy
- 27Saïss
- 42Richards
- 54Otasowie
- 57Lonwijk
Leicester
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Schmeichel
- 21Ricardo Pereira
- 6EvansBooked at 32mins
- 4SöyüncüBooked at 54mins
- 2Justin
- 8Tielemans
- 20Choudhury
- 17PérezSubstituted forAlbrightonat 61'minutes
- 10MaddisonBooked at 62mins
- 15Barnes
- 14IheanachoSubstituted forVardyat 61'minutes
Substitutes
- 9Vardy
- 11Albrighton
- 12Ward
- 18Amartey
- 19Ünder
- 24Mendy
- 28Fuchs
- 33Thomas
- 46Daley-Campbell
- Referee:
- Martin Atkinson
Match Stats
Home TeamWolvesAway TeamLeicester
- Possession
- Home44%
- Away56%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away13
- Shots on Target
- Home1
- Away3
- Corners
- Home8
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home11
- Away15
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Leicester City 0.
Post update
Attempt missed. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Marc Albrighton with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Leander Dendoncker.
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Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Ki-Jana Hoever (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Substitution
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Morgan Gibbs-White replaces Pedro Neto.
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Attempt missed. Ki-Jana Hoever (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
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James Maddison (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Maximilian Kilman (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Post update
Attempt missed. Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Youri Tielemans.
Post update
Hand ball by Adama Traoré (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
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Attempt missed. Youri Tielemans (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Post update
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Kasper Schmeichel.
Post update
Attempt saved. Fábio Silva (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Rúben Neves with a through ball.
Post update
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Çaglar Söyüncü.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton Wanderers) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by João Moutinho.
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Attempt blocked. James Maddison (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marc Albrighton.
Post update
Attempt missed. Çaglar Söyüncü (Leicester City) header from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by James Maddison with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Maximilian Kilman.
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Comments
Join the conversation
Leicester will be back to their winning ways.
Love Vardy. Love his spirit which gets instills into the players around him!
No money in the world could buy that spirit!
To me. Vardy is what a premiership player should be.. Superb player. In every way!
A below par performance and game but probably a fair resul!
Can’t take them!!!
Can’t defend them!!!!
The first half was poor
The second half couldn't end soon enough