Man Utd v Leicester predictions: Fatigued Red Devils are worth opposing

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

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 6pm Tuesday

Best bet

Leicester draw no bet
2pts 11-10 Betfair, Betfred, Paddy Power

Team news

Manchester United
Harry Maguire (ankle) has joined Phil Jones and Anthony Martial on the sidelines and Dan James has missed the last two games with an unspecified injury.

Leicester
Jonny Evans (heel) misses out and Harvey Barnes, James Justin and Wes Morgan are long-term absentees.

Match preview

Manchester United have demonstrated a strong mentality by taking the Premier League title race down to the last two weeks of the season but their challenge could come to an end with a defeat to Leicester at Old Trafford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has warned the other top-four challengers that he must make changes during a hectic schedule of three games in five days but he selected a first-choice line-up at Villa Park on Sunday and was rewarded with a 3-1 victory which kept Manchester City's champagne on ice.

It is highly unlikely that he'll put out a similar side just two days later, though, and his fringe players may struggle to cope with a Leicester side determined to overcome a recent wobble in their quest to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since their 2015-16 title success.

There may be a few scars left over from last term, when Leicester lost three of their final four games - culminating in a 2-0 loss at home to United – to finish outside the top four.

There were signs of mental fragility on Friday when Leicester lost 4-2 at home to Newcastle.

Brendan Rodgers looked understandably ill at ease as Newcastle raced into a 4-0 lead with a counter-attacking masterclass, but he has had time to digest the result and come up with a plan of action for the remaining three games.

A maximum of seven more points are needed for them to guarantee a top-four finish and that won't be easy given a tricky run-in which includes a trip to Chelsea and a home match with Tottenham.

However, Rodgers will be urging his players to adopt a positive mindset and the aim will be to go for maximum points against an understrength United.

United will do their utmost to secure a victory to keep their title challenge going for at least another two days but Solskjaer has to be mindful of not pushing players too hard and risking the loss of key men before the Europa League final against Villarreal on May 26.

One definite absentee against the Foxes will be Harry Maguire, who suffered an ankle injury at the weekend.

Others will be kept fresh for Thursday's clash with Liverpool and the onus will be on United's shadow squad to flatten the Foxes and keep City waiting a little longer.

However, many of Solskjaer's second string have lacked game-time and a lack of fluency might explain why reserve full-backs Alex Telles and Brandon Williams had such a tough time after coming on for the second half of last Thursday's 3-2 loss away to Roma.

The defeat in Rome was largely incidental due to United's 6-2 first-leg success, but they have no breathing space in the title race and another sub-standard showing could pave the way for wild celebrations in the blue half of the city.

Key stat

Leicester have lost only one of their last 15 away matches.

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