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Leicester logo
Premier League | Gameweek 30
Apr 3, 2021 at 5.30pm UK
King Power Stadium
Manchester City logo

Leicester
0 - 2
Man City


Ndidi (32'), Amartey (87')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Mendy (58'), Jesus (74')
Ederson (73'), Fernandinho (82'), Rodri (90')

Preview: Leicester City vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Leicester City and Manchester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

First takes on third in the Premier League on Saturday evening as leaders Manchester City make the trip to fellow in-form side Leicester City.

Man City have won four in a row in all competitions and remain on course for a quadruple, while Leicester have won three on the spin and are also battling on multiple fronts.


Match preview

Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Everton in the FA Cup on March 20, 2021© Reuters

Just 16 games stand between Pep Guardiola's side and a piece of English football history as they attempt to win a clean sweep of domestic and European honours.

The Citizens do not even necessarily have to win all of those games, either, especially given that they boast a 14-point lead on Manchester United in the Premier League.

Come the end of the weekend, it may well be that Leicester are the Citizens' biggest title threat, with the Foxes just a point behind second-placed Man United.

Winning the title is not the aim for Leicester this term, of course, but rather finishing above some heavyweight clubs to secure a top-four spot and Champions League football.

The Foxes have defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 and Sheffield United 5-0 in their last two league games to recover from a recent wobble.

Brendan Rodgers's men are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where Southampton await, after beating Man United 3-1 in their last match before the international break.

Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates scoring against Manchester United in the FA Cup on March 21, 2021© Reuters

Leicester certainly have momentum on their side and plenty to play for over the remaining seven weeks of the season, and the same is very much true for their opponents.

Man City's record winning run may have been ended in a 2-0 loss to Man United last month, but they responded to that with wins over Southampton and Fulham in the league.

With a fifth title in 10 years as good as wrapped up, next week's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Borussia Dortmund may well take priority for Guardiola.

There is also the small matter of the upcoming EFL Cup final with Tottenham Hotspur, plus an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea, in what will be a defining few weeks.

A huge run of fixtures begins with this trip to the King Power Stadium on Saturday, and three more points in the East Midlands would be the perfect way to keep the momentum going.

Leicester City Premier League form:
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W

Leicester City form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W

Manchester City Premier League form:
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W

Manchester City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W


Team News

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero pictured in February 2021© Reuters

Man City announced this week that their all-time leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero will depart the club at the end of the season.

Guardiola will not let sentimentality get the better of him, though, with Gabriel Jesus expected to lead the visitors' attack once again.

City have lots of options to partner Jesus, but Riyad Mahrez has made the right-sided spot his own of late, while Raheem Sterling is back in favour on the left.

Guardiola has a full squad to choose from - a real rarity for any team this season - but a number of players have been away on international duty, which must also be factored in.

Leicester have also been keeping a close eye on their international players, such as midfielder Dennis Praet, who was given some much-needed minutes for Belgium.

Praet has started just one game in 2021, but his display against Belarus, when scoring one and assisting another, could see him come into the starting lineup.

James Justin and Harvey Barnes are definitely out, while James Maddison, Wes Morgan, Ricardo Pereira and Cengiz Under are all fitness doubts.

Former Man City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is fit and firing as he looks to build on a return of seven goals in his last four appearances for the Foxes.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Soyuncu, Evans, Fofana; Albrighton, Tielemans, Ndidi, Praet, Castagne; Vardy, Iheanacho

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodrigo, Gundogan; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling


SM words green background

We say: Leicester City 1-2 Manchester City

Leicester won September's reverse fixture 5-2 and are seeking a league double in this fixture for the first time since 1986-87.

Man City have improved massively since then, though, losing just two of their 43 games since, and we can see them resuming their campaign with three more points on Saturday.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 58.68%. A draw had a probability of 22.4% and a win for Leicester City had a probability of 18.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.23%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.42%) and 1-2 (9.89%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.65%), while for a Leicester City win it was 1-0 (5.74%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 10.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Leicester vs Man City

Leicester City
23.4%
Draw
12.5%
Manchester City
64.1%
128
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Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani pictured on February 2, 2021
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