Leicester City vs Manchester City Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Leicester City:
Schmeichel; Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Perez, Tielemans, Praet, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy
Manchester City:
Ederson; Cancelo, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Zinchenko; Gundogan, De Bruyne, Rodri; Mahrez, Aguero, Bernardo Silva
Third-placed Leicester City will welcome the second Manchester City in what should be an interesting contest. The Foxes are nine points ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea and it is clear they will play in the Champions League next season. Brendon Rodgers is doing an excellent job and Leicester are the most pleasant surprise of the season. However, the actual form isn't at desired level, they have only won two of their last eight games in all competitions. The last two matches in the Premier League ended with draw. First they played a 2:2 draw with Chelsea at King Power. Harvey Barnes and Ben Chilwell scored against the Blues. In the last round Rodgers' men played a goalless draw with Wolverhampton. Vardy remain the leading scorer in the Premier League with 17 goals, but it seems he lost the scoring spark. Rodgers has four injury worries ahead of this match. Matty James, Nampalys Mendy and Daniel Amartey are definitely sidelined, while Wilfred Ndidi is rated as doubtful. He missed the last two matches against Chelsea and Wolverhampton due to a knee issue. His possible absence is a big handicap for Rodgers. That's not all as Hamza Choudhury must serve an one-match ban for the red card he saw last weekend.
Manchester City received a two-year ban from European competitions. They were punished by European football's governing body for "serious breaches" of club licensing and financial fair play regulations and, as a result, will not be permitted to play on international stage for the next two seasons. The club officials instantly denied any wrongdoing and will appeal against UEFA decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Manager Pep Guardiola said he hopes the "truth will prevail" and promised fans that his players will keep fighting until the end of the season. However, this situation will definitely affect the atmosphere in the squad. According to some experts, the best players could leave the club next summer. It will be very hard for the players to stay fully concentrated. To be worse, Manchester City are inconsistent in the last period. They lost 2:0 to Mourinho's Tottenham before the international break, but managed to beat West Ham with 2:0 on Wednesday. It was a comfortable victory, with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne finding the back of the net. Guardiola has three injury issues ahead of this match. Raheem Sterling remains out injured, while this match is coming too soon for Leroy Sane. The German international is closing in on a first-team action after returning to full training in recent weeks. David Silva picked up a knock against West Ham and he is rated as doubtful. Most probably he won't be risked here. Oleksandr Zinchenko is back from suspension.
Leicester City vs Manchester City Prediction:
I expect both teams to score at King Power. The reason is quite simple, both teams are offensive minded. Leicester City have kept just one clean sheet in the last five league matches. At the same time, Manchester City have registered just five clean sheets in 25 fixtures. It should be an open and efficient match.
Leicester City vs Manchester City Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.57 with
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