Leicester City vs Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City head down the M1 to the King Power Stadium on Saturday to take on Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City.
Leicester City vs Manchester City is the match of the weekend. It is a clash between the FA Cup winners and Premier League champions and the two teams met in the Community Shield in August, when Leicester came out on top as Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the Wembley showcase.
Manchester City will be out for revenge and will provide a good examination of the Foxes’ top four hopes after Rodgers’ side missed out on Champions League football on the final day of the season for the second campaign running.
The Sky Blues made a slow start to the 2020/21 campaign but they’ve been a bit quicker off the mark this term, picking up six points from three games.
Leicester’s Premier League 2021 results have matched Manchester City’s. But with a goal difference of -1 compared to the defending champions’ +9, Rodgers team has been a little less convincing.
The Foxes have home advantage and some returning players but they will have to be at their very best to match the relentless champions.
Talking Points
Belgian duo boost for Leicester
There was good news for Foxes fans at the weekend when two of their stars played for Belgium in a World Cup qualifying victory over the Czech Republic.
Wing-back Timothy Castagne played the whole match having recently returned from an eye injury sustained in the summer. And his teammate Youri Tielemans made an appearance having shaken off an ankle injury.
Tielemans has become a crucial player for Leicester after scoring a brilliant winner in the 2021 cup final, and his creative play was all the more important last term when James Maddison and Harvey Barnes had injury absences.
With all three of these attacking midfielders in his armoury, Rodgers can be sure there will be a plentiful supply to veteran striker Jamie Vardy who has already bagged two goals this term.
The Foxes opened up their campaign with a 1-0 win over Wolves, but then suffered a 4-1 defeat to West Ham before recovering with a 1-2 win away to Norwich when a 76th minute strike by Marc Albrighton was enough to edge Leicester past the Canaries after Teemu Pukki had equalised Jamie Vardy’s early goal.
While Leicester look strong going forward, they have injury worries at the back with Jonny Evans, James Justin, and Ricardo Pereira all sidelined.
City working on a ruthless streak
The Sky Blues had a mixed summer transfer window. They brought in Jack Grealish as a marquee signing, though they missed out on the signing of Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
But Guardiola is happy to go with what he’s got and, after losing their opener, they have been utterly ruthless in their following two matches.
A 1-0 defeat to Tottenham gave the Sky Blues’ rivals early hope but since then they have handed out two 5-0 thrashings. They were expected to beat new boys Norwich, but City were in cruise control as they dismantled Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Ferran Torres looks like he might just be the answer to Pep’s striking conundrum. He’s notched twice in the first three games while Gabriel Jesus has weighed in with three assists.
The Sky Blues have goal threats from right through the team as eight different Manchester City players have already scored. And while they are still without playmaker Phil Foden, there could be a return of their own Belgian megastar in Kevin De Bruyne.
The latest Premier League 2021 betting odds have taken note of Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival across the road at Old Trafford, but they are still firmly behind Pep Guardiola’s star-studded team.
History
This time last season, Leicester City were top of the Premier League table with nine points while the Sky Blues struggled in the early stages of the campaign.
In fact, in Round Three of the 2020/21 season the Foxes battered Guardiola’s team 5-2 at the Etihad as an ill-disciplined City conceded three penalties while Vardy helped himself to a hat-trick.
City exacted revenge later in the season by winning 2-0 at the King Power Stadium. While they lost the Community Shield, the Sky Blues are still well ahead in the head-to-head meetings in the Premier League era – winning 16 of the clashes to Leicester’s eight while there have been just four draws.
Betting Tip
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Leicester City vs Manchester City | Manchester City Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.13 |
| September 11, 22:00 (GMT+8) |
Here at SBOTOP, we reckon that the Blue Moon will be rising in Leicester as we’re pricing Manchester City at 1.52 to take the three points. The Foxes are available at 5.60 with the draw at a tasty 3.83.
But draws are a rarity in this fixture and while the hosts have some great players, the Sky Blues have multiple goal threats and might well cut through a depleted home defence.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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