Leicester City vs Manchester City: Premier League Match Preview and Prediction

Leicester City will battle it out against the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in a top of the table clash at the King Power stadium.

Leicester are having a dream run as they sit in third of the table with 17 wins overall. The Foxes are just four points behind Manchester City to further cement their Champions League chances.

Brandon Rodger’s side also have an impeccable record at home and no side feels confident enough when they visit these shores.

The reigning Premier League champions have already conceded the title to Liverpool this season and their entire focus will be on their impending Champions League knockout phase.

A win against West Ham was crucial as they now have the momentum and they will be further bolstered with the return of some huge names. Guardiola can rest some of his important players and this may tilt the game in Leicester’s favour.

Last time out

The Citizens came back from one goal down to beat Leicester 3-1 the last time these two sides faced off in the league. Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus were on the scoring sheet whereas Jamie Vardy had opened the scoring for the Foxes.

Recent form 

Leicester City:- DDWLL

Manchester City:- WLWDW

Team News

For Leicester, Hamza Choudhury will miss out due to his red card in the last gameweek. Ryan Benett will be available to play for the Foxes and Wilfred Ndidi will hope to make the eleven for this crucial clash.

For the Pep Guardiola side, Aymeric Laporte is fit enough to start, which is a huge boost for City. Raheem Sterling remains injured and club captain David Silva is also a doubt. 

Fernandinho will most likely partner Laporte at the back and Gabriel Jesus may miss out due to his poor outing in the last gameweek. Leroy Sane is also nearing a return but this match comes a little too soon for the German.

Player Battle

Jamie Vardy vs Aymeric Laporte

Vardy will pose the biggest threat for the reigning champions. The Premier League Golden Boot leader has a tremendous record against the top six side and he will try his best to hurt the Citizens once again.

Pep Guardiola also heaped praise on Vardy as exceptional and stated that his game is tailor-made to torment City as they play 40 metres up front. He has not had a great 2020 comparatively and the Englishman would like to change that.

An untimely injury to Laporte was one of the most important reasons as to why City’s title challenge fell apart. The Frenchman is now fit to start, which will once again make their defence impregnable.

Laporte was exceptional last season and was at ease against any formidable striker. He has a cool head and is exceptional with the ball at his feet. His cross-field balls will also pose a major threat to the Foxes.

Caglar Soyuncu vs Sergio Aguero

Soyuncu has been one of the finds of the season. The Turkey international has phenomenal numbers as he averages 4.8 clearances per season with 1.7 tackles per game.

The former Freiburg man will look to stifle the fluid attacking play of City and curtail Sergio Aguero’s influence on the game.

Aguero is once again raking in goals at will after his return from injury. The Argentine has already scored 16 league goals and is just behind Vardy in the Golden Boot race.

City’s record scorer will be well fed by a brilliant Kevin de Bruyne, and these two will create havoc in the final third of the pitch.

Prediction

The Foxes are on a dismal run of form as they have managed to win only two of their last eight games in all competitions. Their impressive goal scoring has also been thwarted to some extent and coming up with a win against City will be a huge ask for them.

Pep Guardiola’s side ended a two-game losing streak with a comfortable 2-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday and they will look forward to carrying the momentum into their Champions League knockout tie against Real Madrid.

Brendon Rodger’s side  have lost just once in their last six home encounters with City and the Citizens have managed no more than one goal in four of those fixtures, including each of the last three. 

But, City’s attacking flair would reign supreme and they will come up with three points to go seven points clear off Leicester. We predict a City masterclass and win.

Score Prediction- Leicester City 1-2 Manchester City 

Cover image credits: Ronaldo.com