Manchester City vs Leicester City Prediction – Foxes to be outwitted by Citizens

Updated: 30th March 2023

Manchester City vs Leicester City – Etihad Stadium – February 10, 2018 – 17:30 hrs – EPL Preview

[fcrp_feat_sc sc_id=”6800″] Manchester were forced into just their third winless match in the 2017-18 Premier League season when they were held to a 1-1 draw by a stubborn Burnley side. City got innumerable chances to move ahead but botched up chances to score, including a rank sitter by Raheem Sterling. Similar was the story of Leicester City, their forthcoming opponents of February 10. Fousseni Diabate,Harry Maguire and Demarai Gray all had chances to put the Foxes ahead after the early Jamie Vardy goal against Swansea, but instead allowed the Swans pull off an equalizer.

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City played a full-strength side against Burnley and are expected to do the same against Leicester at the Etihad stadium on Saturday. Guardiola will adopt the same aggressive 4-3-3 formation with the trio of David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling taking on the mantle of scoring what with Gabriel Jesus out with a long-term injury. City will have one of their rare breaks when they will not be saddled with mid-week fixtures and will be well rested by the time they face the Foxes.

Claude Puel, too, will leave no stone unturned when it comes to attacking as is evident from the 4-4-2 he has adopted in his recent games. He will had a mid-field that will be heavy with guys like Marc Albrighton, Wilfred Ndidi, Fousseni Diabate and the £22 million acquisition from Sporting CP, Adrien Silva (who surprsing has featured in just three games since his signing in August 2017). But it looks like Puel could very well start the game with Shinji Okazaki and Demarai Gray in place of Silva and Ndidi or Diabate just to attack from the word go. Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho could find the task of scoring at Etihad much more difficult, not just because of City's defense but for the presence of Brazilian goalie Ederson whose brilliance between the posts has been one of the revelations of the Premier League season.

A City side playing at home will nevertheless put immense pressure on the Leicester goal and look the more likelier side to get a goal or two, given the riches in their attacking ranks. Apart from the Foxes defense, their brilliant custodian Kasper Schmeichel will no doubt be kept on his toes, too. Leicester meanwhile can hope for set-piece situations, something that has worried the Man City defense in recent times.

But expect City to walk away with this one on Saturday evening at the Etihad with probable score-lines reading 3-1 or 2-1 in their favour.

Pep Guardiola's boys will remain at the top of the Premier League irrespective of the game's outcome while Leicester, too, will find themselves at the 8th spot they currently are in, even if they were to lose the Etihad outing, being a clear four points away on the table from 9th placed Bournemouth.

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