Leicester City struggled in the second half of the 2019-20 season and fell away from the Premier League title fight. Their biggest weakness was an inability to defeat the league’s top teams including Manchester City.
Brendan Rodgers’ team have started the new campaign well with two wins from two. Now, the Foxes head to the Etihad Stadium to play Manchester City in what could be a defining game of the campaign.
Manchester City head into matchday 3 after winning against Wolverhampton Wanderers away, 3-1. Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden scored in the first half with Gabriel Jesus tallying a third in the 90th minute.
Both clubs were in action in the Carabao Cup in midweek. Manchester City claimed a 2-1 win against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium. Foden’s 75th-minute goal gave the Cityzens the victory.
Foden goes into matchday 3 in great form. His play has helped him change opinions after falling afoul of the England national team during the last international break for sneaking women into the team’s hotel. Manager Pep Guardiola will hope Foden can continue his form against Leicester City.
The Foxes lost in midweek in the Carabao Cup, 2-0. The defeat came at the hands of Arsenal. It once again showed Leicester City’s inability to defeat the best teams in the league.
Manchester City have won three straight games against Leicester City. Two of those wins came at the Etihad Stadium. The Cityzens outscored Leicester City 5-1 over the course of those three league fixtures.
Guardiola has several players that will miss the game on Sunday. Sergio Aguero is still recovering from knee surgery. Midfielders Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan are both ruled out through injury. Full-backs Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko are also out of action.
Meanwhile, Guardiola is hopeful that centre-back Aymeric Laporte will be fit for the game. He is listed as a doubt currently.
Rodgers has his own defensive injury crisis. Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans, Filip Benkovic, and Wilfred Ndidi are all injured. Only Evans is listed as potentially playing. Manchester City could take advantage of this defensive crisis and exploit Leicester City’s back line.
Six of the last 11 games between Manchester City and Leicester City finished with over 2.5 goals scored. The form that both teams showed in previous matches this season, makes it likely that Saturday’s game will see over 2.5 goals.
Eight of the last 11 games between the clubs finished with both sides finding the back of the net. Manchester City’s form has been excellent against Leicester City in recent seasons.
The Cityzens should once again claim a victory against Leicester City and set back the Foxes once more. Expect both teams to score and over 2.5 goals.