Premier League: Foxes Should Get Running Now

Manchester City vs Leicester City

If ever there was a Premier League mismatch, I think we may have one looming on Saturday folks when title-chasing Manchester City entertain relegation-threatened Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues are looking unbeatable on current form with Erling Haaland now working brilliantly with the talented bunch of players around him. The big Norwegian may be the last part in City’s Champions League jigsaw and, with 45 goals already this season, the Foxes have good reason to run scared.

But Leicester can’t afford to hide from their current predicament. They are in 19^th place and two points from safety, a position they never dreamed they’d be in having finished fifth, fifth, and eighth over the past three campaigns and winning the FA Cup in 2021.

Manchester City come into the game on the back of a hugely impressive 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, while Leicester lost a relegation six-pointer at home to Bournemouth, so it doesn’t look good for the beleaguered visitors with the Sky Blues at SBOTOP odds of 1.14 to win this game.

But this is the club which won the 2016 Premier League title at odds of 5001.00, so their fans are accustomed to seeing the unlikely happen.

I just can’t see it this time.

Talking Points

Treble chasers are in devastating form

Over the last five games, City have scored 24 goals and conceded just two in a spectacular run for performances including the big win over Bayern, a 4-1 education of Liverpool, and a 7-0 hammering of RB Leipzig.

Bernardo Silva was simply sensational against FC Bayern wing-back Alphonso Davies, who has pace to burn but simply could not cope with the Portuguese ace’s movement and trickery.

Erling Haaland scored his 45^th goal in all competitions against the Bavarians, and he already has 30 in the Premier League from 27 games.

That’s to mention but two of City’s stars who are banging in form, and Pep has 18 or more.

Striker Julian Alvarez has delivered every time he has been called upon, while Jack Grealish is now looking like the £100M player the Sky Blues bought in 2021.

Such is the fluidity of this team that central defender John Stones played in a roving midfield role against Bayern and was superb.

It’s frightening.

The title race is now in Manchester City’s hands. Quite simply, if they win their remaining games, they will be champions.

And the latest Premier League 2023 betting odds on a Sky Blue title have come in to 1.66. Guardiola’s side is also favourite to win the FA Cup and the Champions League, and it’s becoming hard to see where they will slip up.

Can Smith save the Foxes?

In sharp contrast, the Foxes have put together an abject set of Premier League 2023 results since the World Cup, and the club has made a change in the hot seat in an attempt to change fortunes on the pitch.

Following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, former Aston Villa and Norwich City boss Dean Smith has been drafted in to try and save Leicester’s season, but not everyone in the East Midlands is excited by the appointment.

In November 2021, Smith left Aston Villa, the club he had guided to promotion from the Championship through the play-offs. At the time he left Villa Park, his team had been on a run of five consecutive defeats.

He then took over a Norwich City almost immediately but failed to keep them in the top-flight, and he was sacked by the Carrow Road hierarchy after the Canaries fell off the promotion pace early in the current Championship campaign.

Recent defeats to relegation rivals Southampton, Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth have been particularly damaging to the Foxes, and maybe the owners are looking for a pragmatist to dig them out of trouble, as indeed the Norwich fans were underwhelmed by the playing style Smith brought to their club.

The first thing he will try to do is make the Foxes hard to beat, and that’s easier said than done against Manchester City, particularly following the departures of defender Wesley Fofana and legendary keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Current centre-backs Wout Faes and Daniel Amartey need to find some steel and consistency because, if they can keep things tight at the back, flair players Harvey Barnes and James Maddison will have more opportunity to impact games.

History

The Sky Blues have had much the better of their encounters with Leicester in the Premier League era, winning 19 of the 31 meetings, losing eight, and drawing four.

Guardiola’s side have won the last three, including a 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium earlier in the campaign, and they took the Foxes apart in a 6-3 victory at the Etihad Stadium last season.

In terms of recent form, the Foxes are without a win in nine while their opponents have won their last nine. And Manchester City’s home form reads 12 wins, one draw, and one defeat.

Betting Tip

Surely only a diehard and supremely optimistic Leicester fan would back their team at a price of 12.56 and even a draw at 6.56 should be a step too far.

For a correct scoreline, 3-0 to City at 6.37 or 4-0 at 8.92 are both more likely than a Foxes win.

 

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