James Maddison produced a man-of-the-match performance as Leicester City demolished rivals Nottingham Forest 4-0 and the midfielder is 7/4 with bet365 to make the World Cup squad this winter.

(This article was originally published on 04.10.2022)

The 25-year-old scored two and assisted another as the Foxes moved off the bottom of the Premier League table.
Maddison was the best player on the pitch and curled in a wonderful free-kick from long range to force his way into the World Cup discussion.

No Englishman has been in better form than the Leicester playmaker over the past six months when it comes to goal contributions –  only the imperious Erling Haaland has more league goals and assists since May than Maddison.

He has outperformed in terms of expected contributions this season with five goals from an xG of just 1.31 and two assists from an xA of 0.78.

Despite his team’s poor start to the season, the Foxes playmaker is among the top scorers in the Premier League this season, with his five goals and two assists making him the joint-sixth highest scorer, equal to Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Brentford hitman Ivan Toney, both of whom were called up to the last squad for the Nations League games with Italy and Germany.

With only a solitary England cap to his name, Maddison clearly has work to do to convince Gareth Southgate he is deserving of a place on the plane to Qatar. He also faces fierce competition in his position from the likes of Phil Foden and Mason Mount.

Despite being one of the more clinical players in the Premier League recently, his last appearance for the Three Lions was a 2019 substitute cameo against Montenegro.

Maddison’s excellent form this season has seen him come in slowly but surely in the betting odds to make the Finals squad.
He was 7/1 in September before his impressive showing against Tottenham Hotspur saw the price cut to 5/1, and another classy performance last night has seen him come in even further with bet365 to 7/4.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has led the calls for Maddison to be in the squad for Qatar this winter as his star man continues to shine for the Foxes. With a potentially serious shoulder injury to midfielder Kalvin Phillips and questions over the form and fitness of veteran Jordan Henderson there is the potential for Maddison to force his way into Southgate’s reckoning.

Darren Durber

• Leicester City F.C.
• England Men's Football Team
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