Will Mahrez finally win on Boxing Day?

Boxing Day in the Premier League. Traditionally, a matchday is played on Boxing Day in the English top flight. Despite the current dire health situation in the UK, the league has decided to go ahead with the match day, which has caused some harsh criticism, even though most clubs support the decision.

We therefore look at the match between Manchester City and Leicester. Even though the standings are a bit crooked due to numerous cancelled matches, Pep Guardiola’s team is on top of the table. With 44 points, they currently have a three-point cushion on Liverpool and six points on Chelsea, both with the same number of games.

The Foxes, on the other hand, are only in mid-table. They are currently only in ninth place. Brendan Rodgers’ team has two games less than the Citizens, but only half the points. At first glance, it sounds as if a home win is the only alternative in the clash between Manchester City and Leicester.

However, Riyad Mahrez is also in the squad for the Citizens. The Algerian undoubtedly has outstanding qualities, but he has lost all of his five games at the Boxing Dax. That’s the worst record for a single player on Boxing Day.

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Manchester City look to continue to cement their reign in the Premier League this season. The champions are the team of the moment and are rushing from victory to victory in the Premier League. In the English league alone, there have recently been eight successes in a row. The Citizens have won ten of their last eleven games. The defeat in the Champions League at the hands of RB Leipzig was meaningless.

Bearish at the end of the year

City are particularly strong at home on Boxing Dax The Lightblues are unbeaten at home for eight games on Boxing Day, winning six times. The last home defeat on Boxing Day was against Port Vale in 1996. Therefore, odds on a home win remain the first choice between Manchester City and Leicester.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side were eliminated in the League Cup and therefore had a game off during the week. Last week, the Citizens hosted Newcastle United in the Premier League and won 4-0 in a commanding victory. Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling were the goalscorers.

Manchester City are one of the few clubs in the Premier League that are not currently affected by the pandemic. Accordingly, only the two injured players Ferran Torres and Kyle Walker are missing. Therefore, there will probably be a larger rotation. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, who recently missed out due to a night out, as well as Ilkay Gündogan are certainly candidates for the starting eleven.

Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson – Zinchenko, Stones, Dias, Cancelo – Rodri, Gündogan, de Bruyne – Grealish, Foden, Jesus – coach: Guardiola

Last matches played by Manchester City:

Premier League
12/19 2021 – Newcastle United 0 – 4 Manchester City

12/14 2021 – Manchester City 7 – 0 Leeds

12/11 2021 – Manchester City 1 – 0 Wolverhampton

Champions League Grp. A
12/07 2021 – RB Leipzig 2 – 1 Manchester City

Premier League
12/04 2021 – Watford 1 – 3 Manchester City

Leicester – Statistics & current form

Maybe it will be Jamie Vardy’s game. The attacker scored eight times against the Citizens in the Premier League. Only legends Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney were more successful against the Lightblues. However, Jamie Vardy has yet to score a single goal in six Boxing Day games. That makes him one of only three players to mark more than 100 goals in the English top flight who have never scored on Boxing Day.

Weak record on Boxing Day

Generally, Boxing Day is not the Foxes’ cup of tea, with just one win in their last eleven Christmas Day games. But this one came against the Citizens in 2018, of all years. Nevertheless, we would not predict a win for the Foxes in the clash between Manchester City and Leicester, especially not in conjunction with a goal from Jamie Vardy.

During the week, Leicester were still fighting for a place in the semi-finals of the League Cup and had to play at Anfield Road. At the break it was 3-1 to the Foxes after two goals from Jamie Vardy and one from James Maddison. After 90 minutes Liverpool had equalised and in the penalty shoot-out the Reds prevailed after misses by Luke Thomas and Ryan Bertrand.

It is also particularly bitter that Caglar Söyüncü had to be substituted with an injury and may miss Boxing Day. The former Freiburg player is far from the only absentee, however. Wesley Fofana, James Justin, Nampalys Mendy, Johnny Evans and Harvey Barnes are also unlikely to be available.

Predicted Leicester line-up:
Schmeichel – Bertrand, Vestergaard, Ndidi, Pereira – Tielemans, Soumare, Albrighton, Maddison – Vardy, Daka – Coach: Rodgers

Last matches played by Leicester:

Carabao Cup
12/22 2021 – Liverpool FC (5)3 – 3(4) Leicester

Premier League
12/12 2021 – Leicester 4 – 0 Newcastle United

Europa League Grp. C
12/09 2021 – SSC Napoli 3 – 2 Leicester

Premier League
12/05 2021 – Aston Villa 2 – 1 Leicester

12/01 2021 – Southampton 2 – 2 Leicester

Manchester City – Leicester Direct Comparison / H2H Record

125 Official matches between Manchester City and Leicester are now in the history books of English football. In a head-to-head comparison, the Citizens have a clear lead. After victories, Manchester leads with 61:33. Another 30 duels ended with a draw. In recent years, this balance has become even more apparent.

Manchester City won eight of the last ten direct duels in the Premier League. However, the first leg in Leicester in mid-September was a very tight affair. In the end, the Citizens only narrowly won 1:0. The Portuguese Bernardo Silva scored the golden goal after one hour of play. However, the Foxes won the last meeting at the Etihad Stadium in September 2020 with a 5-2 victory.

Manchester City – Leicester Tip

Manchester City have no absences due to illness – an aspect that must be particularly mentioned at the moment. This is probably also a reason why the Citizens are currently rushing from victory to victory. They have won eight Premier League games in a row and Pep Guardiola can afford to keep stars like Phil Foden and Jack Grealish on the bench for 90 minutes for disciplinary reasons.

As well as their current good form, City have also been very good on Boxing Day and have not lost at home on Boxing Day since 1996. Leicester, on the other hand, have won only one of their last eleven games on Boxing Day and Jamie Vardy has not been successful once. Therefore, we maintain that a home win should be a good bet between Manchester City and Leicester

However, the odds on an easy win for the Lightblues are very tight. However, we think that Jamie Vardy, who is otherwise in good form, will not shake off his scoring problems on Boxing Day.