Reigning English Premier League champions Leicester City have a major task on their hands this Saturday, September 24th when they pay a visit to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. Leicester was knocked out of the English League Cup on Tuesday when they dropped a 4-2 decision at home to Chelsea in extra time while Man United advanced to the fourth round of the competition with a 3-1 victory at League One side Northampton.
Manchester United vs Leicester City – 5dimes Soccer Betting Line:
- 5dimes currently lists Man United as favorites to win the game at -145 with Leicester +458 and a draw at +306
Manchester United vs Leicester City – Head to Head:
These two clubs met in the Community Shield game at Wembley on August 7th with Man United winning 2-1. They played twice in the league last season with both contests ending in 1-1 draws. Overall, these two sides have met 122 times with United winning 61, losing 33 and drawing the other 28. Leicester has won just one of the past 16 meetings with 12 losses and three draws and has won just two of the past 23. Their last victory was 5-3 at home in September of 2014.
Manchester United – A Closer Look:
Manchester United is now 3-2 on the year in the Premier League after dropping their second straight game and third in just eight days in all competitions last weekend. United was embarrassed 3-1 away by Watford at Vicarage Road on Sunday and fell to seventh place on the table with nine points. They have eight goals for and six against. Etienne Capoue put the home side out in front after 34 minutes in Watford, but Marcus Rashford leveled things in the 62nd minute. Watford then regained the lead with seven minutes to go through Juan Zuniga and Troy Deeney sealed the deal with a penalty kick in the fifth minute of injury time. United manager Jose Mourinho has now won just seven of his last 21 Premier League outings.
United redeemed themselves slightly on Tuesday though as they downed Northampton on the road in the third round of the English League Cup. Mourinho has already alienated some of his players and singled out English international defender Luke Shaw for criticism following the loss to Watford. As far as injuries go, midfielder Anthony Martial is out with a concussion suffered last weekend and defender Phil Jones is expected to be missing until the end of the month with a knee injury. Newcomer Henrikh Mkhitaryan is also questionable for the next game. United sits six points behind league-leading Manchester City.
Leicester City – A Closer Look:
Leicester City moved up to 11th place in the standings last weekend after downing newly-promoted Burnley City 3-0 at home on Saturday. Leicester’s record signing Islam Slimani scored for the home team in first-half injury time and then again just three minutes after the break for a 2-0 lead. Burnley’s Ben Mee scored an own goal in the 78th minute to guarantee Leicester all three points. Leicester now has a 2-1-2 record for seven points on the year with seven goals for and seven against. They lost to Chelsea in the League Cup after blowing a 2-0 lead.
The match ended 2-2 after 90 minutes, but Chelsea took it with a pair of goals by Cesc Fabregas in extra time. Manager Claudio Ranieri appears to have a healthy squad to choose from at Old Trafford as goaltender Kasper Schmeichel and midfielder Nampalys Mendy are expected to play. Leicester has lost two Premier League games in their first five outings in 2016/17 after losing just three times all last season.
Manchester United vs Leicester City – Takeaway:
This is an important game for both teams as Mourinho needs to prove he’s not going to lead United down the same path as the two previous managers David Moyes and Louis van Gaal and Leicester needs to turn things around before they fall too far behind the top four.
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by Ian S. Palmer