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Leicester vs Manchester City: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction
Manchester City will visit the King Power Stadium to face Leicester on Sunday afternoon, hoping to get a much-needed lift. Will the defending champions get back to winning ways as they play their last match of the year? Here are our match analysis and predictions.
Previous Matches and Head-to-head
Leicester may have begun Ruud van Nistelrooy's tenure with a 3-1 home win over West Ham on December 3rd, but since then, the Foxes have fallen dangerously down to earth. A challenging task awaits the former Manchester United interim coach as his team collapsed on Boxing Day away at Liverpool, ultimately losing 3-1 at Anfield.
Leicester are in the thick of a battle for survival after suffering a humiliating 3-0 loss to fellow strugglers Wolves last week. With a one-point cushion separating them from the relegation zone, the Foxes enter Sunday's encounter, losing their past three Premier League matches by a combined score of 10-1. No English elite club has let in more goals in the Premier League this season than this one, with 40.
The Sky Blues are now in the thick of a notorious slump, even though Manchester City may have achieved true history last season by becoming the first English team to win four straight Premier League championships. Pep Guardiola's squad has only managed to scrape a single win from their last thirteen matches across all competitions.
This includes Boxing Day when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Everton. The event's record-breaking decline began at the tail end of October, so Sunday's attendees need a pick-me-up. Manchester City will again be under immense pressure in this match after being eliminated from the European position.
Leicester have been defeated four times in a row by Guardiola's team in the Premier League, and they are eager to prevent a repeat performance.
Leicester vs Manchester City Team News
Leicester are keeping their fingers crossed that offensive star Jamie Vardy, a former England striker, can play here after suffering an injury that may have kept him out of the Boxing Day match at Anfield. But players like Issahaku Fatawu, Mads Hermansen, and Ricardo Pereira—a Portuguese defender—still have injuries.
A Brighton loanee named Facundo Buonanotte will be vying for a starting role for the first time since December 3rd after settling for a bench role in last week's match against Liverpool. Harry Winks, a former Tottenham player who returned from an injury last week, will start in the park's central position.
Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, and John Stones will likely sit out Man City's Boxing Day match against Everton. Similarly, the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner, Rodri, will likely sit out the rest of the season after having knee surgery in September.
On Sunday afternoon, Erling Haaland will start at center midfield, even though he missed a penalty kick earlier in the week and has now gone four games without a goal in all competitions. The King Power might see Kevin de Bruyne, a key player in midfield, given a full recall.
Our Predictions
Goal to be scored in both halves @ 1.50 on Sky247.ng
Despite Manchester City's 11-4 aggregate victory against Leicester in their past four Premier League encounters, the Sky Blues are embroiled in a public scandal. The Guardiola squad needs a lift after shockingly winning only once in their last thirteen matches across all competitions. City may be set for another embarrassing defeat, even if they face a Leicester team that has shown a series of egregious defensive flaws.
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