The Big Match: Leicester v Manchester City

Premier League: Leicester v Manchester City

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 5.30pm Saturday

Match odds

11-2 Leicester, 8-15 Manchester City, 10-3 draw

Form

Manchester City responded to the blip of last month's 2-0 loss at home to Manchester United with four victories and they head to the King Power Stadium in search of a 15th successive away win. They will be aiming to wrap up the title as soon as possible and have an opportunity to widen the gap to third-placed Leicester to 18 points.

Leicester's focus is on finishing inside the top four and they went into the March international break in good spirits after following up league wins at Brighton and at home to Sheffield United with an impressive 3-1 victory at home to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Team news

Leicester
James Maddison (hamstring) could return but there are doubts over Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) and Cengiz Under (thigh) while Harvey Barnes (knee) and James Justin (knee) remain sidelined.

Manchester City
The Citizens went into the international break with a clean bill of health but Pep Guardiola will be monitoring several players' fitness after their exertions over the past fortnight.

The tactical battle

Few teams fancy their chances of beating Manchester City but Leicester are entitled to be more confident than most after their stunning 5-2 success at the Etihad in September.

The Foxes pulled off a counter-attacking masterclass on that occasion and will look to do something similar, although three of their starters that day – James Justin, James Maddison and Harvey Barnes – were carrying injuries before the March international break.

Only Maddison has a chance of facing City and Leicester's hopes will be heavily dependant on getting some quality service into their front two of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho.

City boss Pep Guardiola has far more options but Kevin De Bruyne's inclusion looks a certainty given the difficulty of breaking down a disciplined, deep-lying Leicester defence.

Verdict

Guardiola has sustained three Premier League defeats to Leicester but his team have been a winning machine in recent months, securing 25 victories in 26 matches, and they can come up with the answers this weekend.

City have four competitions to consider and their contest with Leicester takes place just three days before the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund.

However, Guardiola never looks too far ahead and is likely to have his players fully focused on taking their next small step towards a third title in four seasons.

Leicester have opened up a handy seven-point gap to fifth-placed West Ham but they have a tough run-in to contemplate including visits to West Ham, Manchester United and Chelsea and they are far from certain to nail down a top-four finish.

Leicester 1 Manchester City 3

Key stats

• Manchester City have won their last 14 away fixtures
• Four of Leicester's last five home games have featured at least four goals
• Six of Leicester's last eight meetings with Manchester City have featured goals for both teams
• Leicester have kept one clean sheet in their last seven matches

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