English
Español
Français
Português
Deutsch
Italiano
NederlandFirst takes on third in the Premier League on Saturday evening as leaders Manchester City make the trip to fellow in-form side Leicester City.
Man City have won four in a row in all competitions and remain on course for a quadruple, while Leicester have won three on the spin and are also battling on multiple fronts.
Match preview
© Reuters
Just 16 games stand between Pep Guardiola's side and a piece of English football history as they attempt to win a clean sweep of domestic and European honours.
The Citizens do not even necessarily have to win all of those games, either, especially given that they boast a 14-point lead on Manchester United in the Premier League.
Come the end of the weekend, it may well be that Leicester are the Citizens' biggest title threat, with the Foxes just a point behind second-placed Man United.
Winning the title is not the aim for Leicester this term, of course, but rather finishing above some heavyweight clubs to secure a top-four spot and Champions League football.
The Foxes have defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 and Sheffield United 5-0 in their last two league games to recover from a recent wobble.
Brendan Rodgers's men are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where Southampton await, after beating Man United 3-1 in their last match before the international break.
© Reuters
Leicester certainly have momentum on their side and plenty to play for over the remaining seven weeks of the season, and the same is very much true for their opponents.
Man City's record winning run may have been ended in a 2-0 loss to Man United last month, but they responded to that with wins over Southampton and Fulham in the league.
With a fifth title in 10 years as good as wrapped up, next week's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Borussia Dortmund may well take priority for Guardiola.
There is also the small matter of the upcoming EFL Cup final with Tottenham Hotspur, plus an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea, in what will be a defining few weeks.
A huge run of fixtures begins with this trip to the King Power Stadium on Saturday, and three more points in the East Midlands would be the perfect way to keep the momentum going.
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
Article continues after the advert
Team News
© Reuters
Man City announced this week that their all-time leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero will depart the club at the end of the season.
Guardiola will not let sentimentality get the better of him, though, with Gabriel Jesus expected to lead the visitors' attack once again.
City have lots of options to partner Jesus, but Riyad Mahrez has made the right-sided spot his own of late, while Raheem Sterling is back in favour on the left.
Guardiola has a full squad to choose from - a real rarity for any team this season - but a number of players have been away on international duty, which must also be factored in.
Leicester have also been keeping a close eye on their international players, such as midfielder Dennis Praet, who was given some much-needed minutes for Belgium.
Praet has started just one game in 2021, but his display against Belarus, when scoring one and assisting another, could see him come into the starting lineup.
James Justin and Harvey Barnes are definitely out, while James Maddison, Wes Morgan, Ricardo Pereira and Cengiz Under are all fitness doubts.
Former Man City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is fit and firing as he looks to build on a return of seven goals in his last four appearances for the Foxes.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Soyuncu, Evans, Fofana; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Praet, Castagne; Vardy, Iheanacho
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodrigo, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling
We say: Leicester City 1-2 Manchester City
Leicester won September's reverse fixture 5-2 and are seeking a league double in this fixture for the first time since 1986-87.
Man City have improved massively since then, though, losing just two of their 43 games since, and we can see them resuming their campaign with three more points on Saturday.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
