Leicester City vs Man United prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
Leicester City play host to Manchester United in a rare evening kick-off in the Premier League on Sunday.
This will be the fourth meeting between the sides this season, with United winning 5-2 in the Carabao Cup, 2-1 in the FA Cup, and 3-0 in the Premier League.
It’s been a (reasonably) good month on and off the pitch for Manchester United.
Not only has Ruben Amorim guided them to a Europa League quarter-final while stepping up in the relegation battle, the Premier League’s coefficient success is opening up new routes to Europe.
As many as 11 teams may be able to sneak into UEFA competition next season, which gives United an outside chance of a quick return if they fail to win the Europa League.
On a serious note, it’s time to show United and Amorim some respect. They’re unbeaten in six inside 90 minutes and finally showed some flare against Real Sociedad.
Van Nistelrooy tried to channel a bit of Amorim by deploying a 3-4-2-1 at Stamford Bridge. It worked in the early stages but turned out to be as bad as everything else he’s tried.
In his defence, Leicester might just be very bad at playing football. They’ve lost six on the spin and there’s a case to be made for that run being extended on Sunday.
Leicester team news
For a manager to overhaul the structure of his team is rare because it can be seen as admitting defeat, but that’s what the Dutchman has done by giving 3-4-2-1 a go.
It would be even weirder to make that admission and then revert to what doesn’t work, so we’re assuming the Foxes will give their new look another go.
Mads Hermansen was protected (for want of a better phrase) by James Justin on the right, Wout Faes, Conor Coady, and Luke Thomas in the centre, with Victor Kristiansen on the left against Chelsea.
The pairing of Wilfried Ndidi and Bakary Soumare offers some steel in midfield that gives licence to Patson Daka and Bilal El Khannouss to roam free.
Jamie Vardy has 10 Premier League goal involvements this campaign at the ripe old age of 38.
Leicester expected line-up
Hermansen – Justin, Faes, Coady, Thomas, Kristiansen – Ndidi, Soumare – Daka, El Khannouss – Vardy
Man Utd team news
The treatment room at Carrington Road is still overflowing with ‘overpaid’ (Jim’s words, not ours) footballers but there was some good news on Thursday as Manuel Ugarte made the bench.
Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo, and Amad Diallo are still injured.
Patrick Dorgu’s suspension should mean Noussair Mazraou returns on the right and Diogo Dalot shuffles to the left.
Mason Mount will return to the squad this weekend and could be joined on the bench by Harry Maguire, who Amorim is eager ‘not to risk’.
Ayden Heaven is in line for his first Premier League start, sitting on the left of a back three featuring Matthijs de Light and anchored by the recalled Victor Lindelof.
Manuel Ugarte may be preferred to Casemiro, which may mean Bruno Fernandes moving to the left side of the two-man midfield.
Alejandro Garnacho, Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund did more than enough against Sociedad to warrant retaining their spot in the side.
Man Utd expected line-up
Onana – Mazraoui, De Ligt, Lindelof, Heaven, Dalot – Ugarte, Fernandes – Garnacho, Zirkzee – Hojlund
Leicester vs Man Utd: How to watch and listen
Sunday’s game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League and UHD. There will be live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.
Leicester vs Man Utd stats:
Man Utd have beaten Leicester 5-2, 3-0 and 2-1 in three meetings this season.
Leicester have lost each of their last three Premier League meetings without scoring.
Leicester have lost 12 Premier League matches either side of a shock 2-1 win against Tottenham.
Man Utd are unbeaten in six matches inside 90 minutes, which is their second-best run of the season. Their previous high was a seven-match stint involving two wins against the Foxes.
If United were to win this fixture again, Van Nistelrooy will boast two wins as United manager and two losses as Leicester manager in the same season.
Leicester are two goals away from having conceded 1,000 goals as a Premier League team.
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Leicester) quotes
On Man Utd’s improvement:
“That’s a great boost and a good win.
“Bruno is in great form, scoring a hat-trick and then scored the free-kick against Arsenal, so very decisive in that team.
“So, it’s a team that I think got some momentum going, especially after yesterday. It’s definitely a team that is in a better place than when we played them in the FA Cup.”
On results not matching performances:
“We showed against Chelsea, we showed up, we were there. I think if you saw us playing and you don’t know any context, then you would see a team and say, ‘OK, this is a proper team.
“A positive result would do us really good. That is really clear, it’s what we’re working for and what we took from the Chelsea game.
“It’s what we’ve worked on this week to develop the structures we’ve put in place. We were able to build on that and bring it into Sunday’s game.
“With the break, it would give a good boost to get a positive result.”
On persisting with the new system:
“We were able to develop that and evaluate the Chelsea game – what went well and where we can improve. We look at United over the coming days and prepare to present ourselves in the best possible way. That structure has definitely been part of training.”
Ruben Amorim (Man Utd) quotes
On his ideas starting to show through:
“I feel that in the last games that we can understand better the idea of what we want to do. We are better understanding the plan for the games.
“We are not suffering one goal and then losing our minds by suffering another goal. We are understanding the moments of the game and also we are understanding better the way we want to play.
“I know that in football, especially in our moment, we can have a really good moment and then drop really fast. So our focus is to continue and don’t be too happy or too depressed. My idea is to continue, we have to survive.”
On the influence of Bruno Fernandes:
“He is so important for this team and you can see from the numbers and the last games he is always the guy who scores. It is not the most important thing or the only thing – but he is always there.
“When you play for this team you have to be prepared for the critics and I understand that former players had a lot of success here and the standard for them was so high. They see things like that in black and white.
Life is sometimes not black and white – there are other colours and you have to understand that context. He is always there, trying his best. I am really proud to coach a player like him.”
On Mason Mount and his return:
“We need him and every player. He cannot play too many minutes but just five minutes of Mason Mount is perfect.
“I really love Mason Mount. I see him and know how he suffered. I know how he does everything right – he eats right, his physical aspect is perfect. When a player does everything like he does, he will always have the support of everybody here at the club. We will try to manage the load.”
Leicester vs Man Utd referee stats:
Referee Thomas Bramall spends most of his time in the Championship but will take charge of a Premier League fixture for the 20th time this weekend.
The 35-year-old Sheffield native is often kept away from games at the top of the Championship but recently took charge of promoted side Southampton’s 4-0 battering at Stamford Bridge.
The 15 senior fixtures he’s taken charge of across the EPL and EFL this season have averaged just 2.46 goals.
VAR Alex Chilowicz came under fire from West Ham boss Graham Potter for his awarding of Newcastle’s winner on Monday Night Football, allegedly scored by foul means after Max Kilman was nudged in the back.
The 38-year-old enjoyed a successful career as an MLS referee but has yet to take charge of a Premier League match.
Leicester vs Man Utd prediction:
Ruud tore up Plan A and threw it in the bin against Chelsea, abandoning his principles in favour of a Ruben Amorim inspired 3-4-2-1. It worked well for around 20 minutes before the Foxes were overpowered.
A fresh approach was sorely needed after losing each of their last five Premier League fixtures without scoring and each of their last six at the King Power Stadium.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s 42nd minute strike at Old Trafford is the only goal they’ve produced in 580 minutes of football, yet there’s reason to believe they can score on Sunday.
You can make a strong case for them deserving to have scored against Crystal Palace and Man City as those fixtures yielded 1.7xG and 1.3xG respectively.
