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Leicester v Manchester City predictions: Leaders set for entertaining victory

Citizens' firepower gives them edge over dangerous Foxes

Manchester City travel to Newcastle in their first game as champions
Manchester City travel to Newcastle in their first game as championsCredit: Laurence Griffiths

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Leicester v Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Manchester City to win & both teams to score
1pt 5-2 bet365

Team news

Leicester
Harvey Barnes and James Justin remain sidelined. Wes Morgan and Cengiz Under are also likely to miss out while James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira are doubts.

Manchester City
Sergio Aguero, who confirmed he will be leaving at the end of the season, is likely to start on the bench with Gabriel Jesus preferred up front.

Match preview

Leicester's last Premier League fixture was a 5-0 rout of bottom club Sheffield United but the Foxes face a far more testing assignment this weekend.

Brendan Rodgers' men are enjoying an excellent campaign, sitting third in the Premier League and reaching the last four of the FA Cup thanks to a 3-1 quarter-final win over Manchester United just before the international break.

However, they take on a Manchester City side who have won 25 of their last 26 matches in all competitions and are rated just 13-2 to claim the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup, as well as a long-awaited first Champions League title this season.

A victory at the King Power Stadium would take the Citizens 18 points clear of Leicester in the league table, with United still a distant second, but Pep Guardiola and his side will not be taking their opponents lightly.

Leicester's remarkable 5-2 win at the Etihad in September marked the low point in a difficult start to the season for City, who were odds-on ante-post to regain their title but took just 12 points from their first eight league matches.

At that point, Manchester City fans would have been more concerned about making the top four rather than winning all four competitions in which they were involved.

November's 2-0 defeat at Tottenham proved a turning point for Pep's men and they can demonstrate their superiority over the chasing pack with an entertaining victory at Leicester.

Their Premier League resurgence was initially built on a sound defence enabling them to grind out a series of low-scoring wins. After the 5-2 loss to the Foxes, ten of City's next 11 league games all rewarded backers of under 2.5 goals but their recent outings have been more expansive.

Both teams have scored in five of the leaders' last eight league wins while they also suffered a 2-0 derby defeat at home to United – the sole blot on an outstanding run of form since mid-December.

Leicester have been superb away from home this season but their record at the King Power Stadium is modest: seven wins, one draw and six defeats including 3-1 losses to Leeds and Arsenal since the turn of the year.

Injuries to James Maddison and Harvey Barnes threatened to derail their top-four challenge but they still pose a major attacking threat through Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho, who has scored seven goals in his last four appearances.

There is no sense of inferiority for the Foxes after the cup win over Manchester United. They have also drawn 2-2 with United and beaten Chelsea 2-0 and Liverpool 3-1 in the league at home so they should be confident of landing a blow on the visiting defence.

However, as the table suggests, the Citizens are a cut above their domestic rivals and they should take another big step closer to the title.

Key stat

Six of Leicester's seven league defeats this season have come at home.


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