Will United miss out on 4th place early?
For many long-time football fans, it’s hard to imagine a Champions League season without Manchester United. Exactly this scenario, however, threatens the English record champion in the coming season. After Rangnick’s team had to pull out of the last 16 of the top flight, the only option is fourth place in the final standings of the Premier League. However, United are currently four points behind and have played one more game than fourth-placed Arsenal.
On Saturday evening, CR7 and Co. must not allow themselves to slip up. The clash between Manchester United and Leicester will take place at Old Trafford from 18:30. According to the odds, however, there are many indications that the home side will live up to their role as favourites. At the top, only 1.53 is offered for a home victory for the Red Devils.
However, this one-sided odds distribution should be taken with a grain of salt, as the Foxes have won all three of their most recent direct duels against the star ensemble from Manchester. However, Leicester have never won four in a row against United in the club’s history. Although predicting an away win between Manchester United and Leicester might be going too far, we definitely trust the visitors, who have been in better form of late, to score or even get a good result at the “Theatre of Dreams”.
Manchester United – Statistics & current form
Over two weeks Manchester United have now had time to come to terms with their disappointing elimination from the Champions League. In front of their home crowd, the Englishmen lost 0:1 to the reigning Spanish champions Atletico Madrid and thus, after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, lost out on aggregate. The already tarnished standing of Ralf Rangnick was further damaged by this defeat.
In general, the mood around Old Trafford is tense. A new 2022/23 season without Champions League is looming, which would be a real super-GAU in view of the very expensive squad on the one hand and the high ambitions of the individual players on the other. The Red Devils need a virtually flawless final spurt in the league to perhaps still be able to overtake Arsenal and Tottenham.
How are United dealing with the mounting pressure?
The will to start a series now will definitely not be enough to make a bet on a home win between Manchester United and Leicester on Saturday night pay off. From a purely statistical point of view, it should give us pause for thought that only half of the past six matches have been won at home. A review of the last seven games also shows only three victories – too few for the high expectations of the record champions.
The initial stability in the defence has also suffered noticeably in recent weeks. They conceded two goals against Tottenham in their last home game, City humiliated United with four goals of their own and even against relegation candidates like Burnley, Brentford or Leeds, David de Gea was unable to keep a clean sheet in the Rangnick team’s box. In summary, there has only been a clean sheet in two of the past ten matches, which is why we would recommend the odds on the “both sides to score” for the upcoming clash between Manchester United and Leicester.
Predicted line-up of Manchester United:
De Gea – Shaw, Maguire, Varane, Wan-Bissaka – Porgba, Fernandes, McTominay – Sancho, Ronaldo, Rashford
Last matches played by Manchester United:
Champions League Final
03/15 2022 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
Premier League
03/12 2022 – Manchester United 3 – 2 Tottenham
03/06 2022 – Manchester City 4 – 1 Manchester United
02/26 2022 – Manchester United 0 – 0 Watford
Champions League Final
02/23 2022 – Atletico Madrid 1 – 1 Manchester United
Leicester – Statistics & current form
Not only Manchester United are anxious about achieving their own goal of the season, but also Leicester City. The surprise champions of 2016 are currently having to stretch themselves quite a bit in order to be represented internationally again in 2022/23. Be it in the Europa League or in the Conference League. At least the Foxes still have two hot irons in the fire.
On the one hand, in the Premier League, where the team of coach Brendan Rodgers needs a small miracle. In tenth place, they are twelve points behind the seventh-placed team. The only glimmer of hope is the fact that the Foxes have played two or three matches less and with good results in these catch-up games could still knock on the door at the top.
Empty runs out the Foxes offense very rarely
On the other hand, Jamie Vardy and Co. are still in the Conference League and are considered one of the most promising favourites there after progressing against Stade Rennes. The first leg against PSV Eindhoven awaits them next Thursday. But before that, the team from the English East Midlands wants to continue its upward trend in the league. Before the international break, three of the last four matches were won.
Also interesting: Leicester have scored at least one goal in 13 of their last 15 Premier League matches. Only against Arsenal and Liverpool did the Foxes remain without a goal. With this in mind, it would be logical to predict that Manchester United and Leicester will cross the goal line at least once. However, a clean sheet is out of the question. In 27 league games, keeper Schmeichel has only managed to keep his box clean five times.
Those who want to put their risk affinity to the test can bet that Leicester will score the first goal of the match.
However, it remains to be seen whether Jamie Vardy can be involved. The 35-year-old is struggling with a persistent knee injury and is questionable for Saturday. Should the veteran not feature, hopes rest on top scorer Maddison, who has been involved in 20 goals across the competition this season.
Predicted Leicester line-up:
Schmeichel – Söyüncü, Evans, Fofana – Castagne, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Justin – Maddison, Iheanacho, Daka
Last matches played by Leicester:
Premier League
03/20 2022 – Leicester 2 – 1 Brentford
European Conference League Final Stage
03/17 2022 – Rennes 2 – 1 Leicester
Premier League
03/13 2022 – Arsenal FC 2 – 0 Leicester
European Conference League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – Leicester 2 – 0 Rennes
Premier League
03/05 2022 – Leicester 1 – 0 Leeds
Manchester United – Leicester Direct comparison / H2H record
In English football, the match between Manchester United and Leicester City is a real evergreen. This will be the 135th time they have met across all competitions. In 68 games, the Red Devils have had the upper hand, while the Foxes have celebrated only 36 victories. 30 matches ended in a draw.
In the recent past, however, the pointer has tended to point in the direction of the 2016 champions. Leicester have won all three of their last competitive matches. In the first leg, Vardy and Co. even won 4:2 in front of their home crowd. For the first time since 1973/74, the Blues are on the verge of a so-called season double, i.e. wins in the first and second legs. In addition, for the first time in the club’s history, they can look forward to two consecutive PL away victories at Old Trafford!
Manchester United – Leicester Tip
The glory years of Manchester United and Leicester City are long in the past. In the current season, both clubs are in danger of missing their goal of the season. The hosts are behind in the battle for the top flight and it will also be extremely difficult for the Foxes in the PL final spurt to make up a few places in the standings in order to be back on the international stage in 2022/23.
For the direct duel on Saturday evening, it is virtually certain that a point would be too little for both coaches. Not least because of this, we expect an open exchange with a goal or two. The betting odds between Manchester United and Leicester seem particularly promising that both the Red Devils and the Foxes will score at least once.
Alternatively, it is conceivable to place a bet on the over 2.5 or even bet on the supposed underdog from the East Midlands scoring the first goal of the day. Rodgers’ side have won their last three matches against United, improved their form before the international break and have scored in 13 of their last 15 Premier League games.
In the end, however, we stick to our first approach and recommend betting on “both to score” in the Manchester United vs Leicester clash.
