Leicester City prove Gary Lineker right after 'negative' James ...

Gary Lineker predicted Leicester City would have "no hope" against Arsenal when he saw James Maddison was not on the team sheet.

Maddison missed the defeat through illness and would otherwise have been available, manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed, but Lineker believes City's fate was already sealed an hour before kick-off.

Leicester went on to prove Lineker right, with their performance during the 1-0 defeat leaving Brendan Rodgers "surprised" after the match. Speaking on Saturday evening, Lineker revealed his Maddison prediction made in a group chat with his sons.

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"Leicester were well organised," Lineker said on Match of the Day. "Without Maddison.... funnily enough, I did a group chat with my boys who are Leicester fans. When I got the team I went 'no Maddison, no hope' which is a bit negative. It did prove that way."

Pundit Micah Richards agreed with Lineker, saying: "They've just not got that creative spark [without James Maddison]. Brendan Rodgers mentioned there in his interview about not being aggressive enough in the first half.

"It's a completely different team, they need him back as soon as possible, he's the real quality in this team.

"I want to see more from Leicester, it was the team every one loved, the team that became everyone's second team and the energy from the crowd, it's just not there anymore. We need more.

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