Man City vs Leicester – Analysis, Prediction, Team News

As part of our weekend Premier League predictions, we examine Leicester’s visit to Manchester. Leicester are the league’s worst team over the last 15 games – no contest? Read on with our Man City vs Leicester prediction.

Man City vs Leicester Match Preview

Man City come into this game in fantastic form. Indeed, the Manchester club have won their previous five league games convincingly – they have scored 15 goals across these games and registered four three times. Therefore, they have come into form at just the right time. They also destroyed Bayern Munich 3-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in midweek, which eases the pressure going into the second leg next week. Their 4-1 rout of Southampton last week is indicative of how they are playing.

City have been brilliant at the Etihad this season. Indeed, they have won 12 of their 14 games there and only suffered only one loss (against Brentford in the game immediately before the World Cup break). Therefore, they will expect to get the job done comprehensively here. They sit in second place in the league. However, they have a game in hand over Arsenal, a superior goal difference, plus the Gunners still have to visit the Etihad. A historic treble is still on, with a tie against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final also on the horizon.

Leicester make the trip to the North-West in dire form. Indeed, the club haven’t won any of their last nine games in all competitions – most of this run is what accounted for the sacking of Brendan Rodgers after four years in charge. New manager Dean Smith knows he has much work to do to get Leicester safe – he couldn’t have had a more challenging start with an encounter with Pep Guardiola’s Man City. The Foxes’ defeat at home to Bournemouth last week was disappointing and a failure in a six-pointer.

Away from home, Leicester are actually one of two clubs to accrue more points than at home (the other is Southampton). However, their record on the road is still not good – they have won 13 points and emerged victorious in four games out of 15. Their current form is horrendous, and they will pray for a new manager bounce that keeps them in the Premier League. They have plenty of good players and have been unlucky sometimes this season. They shouldn’t be in this position, but here we are – they are in the relegation zone with games running out as they fight for survival.

Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Man City:

Might Not Play: Foden

Will Not Play:

Leicester:

Might Not Play: Barnes, Tielemans, Bertrand

Will Not Play: Vestergaard, Justin

Man City vs Leicester Lineups (Predicted)

Man City (3-2-4-1 / 4-2-3-1): Ederson; Ake, Dias, Akanji; Grealish, Rodri, Stones, Silva; De Bruyne, Gundogan; Haaland

Leicester (4-3-3): Iversen; Kristiansen, Faes, Amartey, Castagne; Dewsbury-Hall, Ndidi; Barnes, Maddison, Tete; Vardy

Man City vs Leicester Analysis

Man City Are In Fantastic Form And Will Control This Game

It is undeniable what the pattern of this game will likely be. Man City have started to play some scintillating football, and are looking ominous right now. Leicester like to pass the ball around themselves, but away at the Etihad is most teams’ toughest fixture of the season – Man City will not allow Leicester to have much of the ball. Therefore, we anticipate a flow where Man City dominate most of the ball and put Leicester under significant pressure.

Guardiola loves tinkering with his formation and personnel, so predicting who will play and how is a thankless task. However, we expect him to play the same 3-2-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 hybrid he has in recent months. This system enables three physical centre-backs, but Stones can drop from midfield to centre-back to join Dias. Then Ake goes wide left, and Akanji wide right. Gundogan will then fall into midfield to the space Stones vacates.

Therefore, the system is 3-2-4-1 when attacking, allowing Stones to step into midfield and get as many players forward as possible. However, when defending, the formation becomes more of the 4-2-3-1 just described and with the wingers coming back to help the full-backs. This style allows Man City to use their physical players to prevent the speedy counter-attacks they were previously more vulnerable to. It also maximises their possession style with the ball. Hence, with Stones, Rodri, Gundogan and Silva dictating play and being defensively sound without the ball, Man City should dominate this match as they did against Bayern. Then they will have the platform to create with Grealish and De Bruyne and set up Haaland.

Leicester Are Really Struggling. They Will Get Slim Counter-Attacking Opportunities

The new Leicester coach Dean Smith is a much more straightforward manager than Guardiola. He will likely line the side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation – while he would like to have as much possession as possible, he will be pragmatic. He will know Leicester’s best hope in this game is to soak up pressure, hit on the counter, and hope for massive amounts of luck. As they’re in the relegation zone heading into this game, the 2016 Premier League champions know that every point is vital. However, it is asking a lot for them to get a result here.

Their full-backs (probably two from Pereira, Kristiansen and Castagne) will be pinned back by Man City for large parts of the game and unable to showcase their attacking ability. Ndidi and the returning Dewsbury-Hall have much work to do in midfield – it cannot be overstated just how crucial their role is in working tirelessly and covering space to prevent Man City from finding little gaps to hurt the back four. Maddison will also come deep to help.

When Leicester can win the ball, they must try to spring on the counter and threaten Man City (which, given City’s possible system and starters, is easier said than done). Maddison can be a creative threat in the final third, and the pace of Tete and Barnes in wide areas could find Leicester some joy. They also have three strikers in their squad they hope can score a goal for them; Vardy, Iheanacho and Daka. However, it will be difficult for them to register even one goal, so they cannot afford to concede twice or more. Iversen will likely need to have a great game in goal if Leicester are to get anything – they would bite your hand off for a point right now.

Our Prediction

This game is a simple match to predict, in theory. Man City have been in imperious form recently and come into this game off the back of a 3-0 hammering of Bayern Munich. Alternatively, Leicester have struggled all season and have experienced many setbacks recently. They have also changed their manager. While people might expect a bounce, it is improbable that they will get anything from this game.

Therefore, we will surprise nobody by predicting a routine Man City win. Just how comprehensive this likely victory will be is open to question. City are the sort of team who don’t hold back when they go a goal or two up, so we envisage them taking an early lead and continuing to pile on the misery for Leicester. Overall, we believe this probable victory will be very emphatic. They should have far too much in attacking areas and will likely put more pressure on Arsenal before the Gunners play West Ham on Sunday.

Man City 4-0 Leicester

Man City vs Leicester Betting Tip – Man City -2 (win by 3 goals or more) Odds: