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Manchester City’s Title Bid Continues Against Leicester

This weekend’s Premier League fixtures have produced some pretty staggering (and entertaining) results, and that’s putting it mildly. In many ways we’ve been spoiled this season with the calibre of football that we’ve seen, and we’d suggest that the top flight has done a great job of capitalising on the momentum created by England’s World Cup heroics last summer. More fans are getting invested in the English game as time goes on, and to be perfectly honest, that matters more than any result or scenario that could possibly come of this season. Long may it continue, as we gear up for the final few games of the campaign.

The game we’re going to be taking a look at today will be contested by Manchester City and Leicester City, who both have achievable goals with just a few games remaining in the Premier League season. City have the FA Cup final to worry about as well as a possible title race, whereas Leicester have an outside chance of taking seventh place away from Wolverhampton Wanderers. It’s a slim chance, but that isn’t going to stop them from giving City a really tough game in what should be a pretty fun encounter.

Manchester City have had a pretty great season up to this point, and while their quadruple hopes were dashed by Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, it still feels like this squad is going to go down as one of the best in recent memory. They’ve been able to compile some seriously impressive results since the season began, and while their rise to prominence hasn’t exactly been the most popular of surges, you can’t help but appreciate the kind of football that they’re able to produce on a week to week basis. Sure, you can hate them, but you have to respect them.

Leicester have been on a solid run of form since Brendan Rodgers came to the club, and their ability to churn out results – and play great football in the process – has been inspiring to many. They’ve had a really bittersweet season after losing their chairman to a tragic accident a few months ago, but the hurt they felt from that has been channelled into their play on the pitch. They probably aren’t going to be playing European football next season, but they’ve certainly set themselves up nicely for a really enjoyable campaign under a manager with some big ambitions.

Man City’s last six game stretch has certainly been an interesting one, starting off with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. They went on to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in a pretty fun game, and then in their second leg against Spurs, they won 4-3 – although they went out of the competition on away goals. They got their revenge in the Premier League with a nice 1-0 win, and then they were able to pick up back to back league wins against Manchester United and Burnley to strengthen their grip on the title.

Leicester’s last six games have been fairly enjoyable for the fans, starting off with a 2-1 win over Burnley. They went on to defeat Bournemouth 2-0 before running through Huddersfield, with their only loss in this run coming against Newcastle United. They drew 2-2 with West Ham in another fun game, and in their last outing, they dominated Arsenal 3-0 in a memorable performance at King Power Stadium. As you can see they’ve certainly got the credentials necessary to get the job done, but when you’re going up against a team of City’s quality, can you piece that kind of performance together?

Man City have a 58-30 advantage in the overall head to head standings, with 29 draws thrown in there for good measure. Their first meeting took place in 1895, but of course, things have changed a lot since then. Interestingly enough their last encounter took place on Boxing Day of last year, and it was Leicester who were able to get the three points. That was seen as a pivotal turning point in the title race, but Liverpool weren’t able to sustain it. As a result, Leicester are going to need to do it all over again (but Reds fans will be reassured knowing that they’ve already beaten them this season).

Kevin De Bruyne and Claudio Bravo will both be out of action for City in this game, with De Bruyne in particular being seen as a big blow. Fernandinho is a doubt as fans continue to question his future with the club, whereas there are still question marks over Benjamin Mendy’s fitness. Bernardo Silva is going to be shifted over into the middle of the park if Fernandinho is unable to make the starting XI, and with that being the case, Mahrez or Sane will get the opportunity to lead the line in what is one of City’s biggest games of the season.

Daniel Amartey is the only big injury concern for Rodgers ahead of the game in Manchester, with Choudhury being tipped to keep his place in the first team. That isn’t a guarantee, though, as he hasn’t exactly been a regular of late. Harvey Barnes and Demarai Gray will both be hoping to make appearances of some kind, although that’ll depend on whether or not the boss wants to mix things up. Jonny Evans may be kept in the starting XI, regardless of whether or not Wes Morgan is deemed to be ready for action.

Manchester City vs Leicester Betting Prediction

Leicester are going to come out like a house on fire, because that’s what we’re used to seeing from them. Jamie Vardy’s sensational record against the top four has been well noted up to this point and we think that is going to continue here, with the Englishman putting the Foxes into an early lead. However, instead of sitting back on their advantage, we think they’re going to go in search of a second goal – and whilst their ambition may be admirable, we can see that being their biggest downfall against a team with the quality that City possesses.

We can see City slowly taking over the game and scoring quite a few goals in the process, to the point where they set themselves up perfectly for success on the final day of the season. They’re going to throw their big dogs out there because they know that with no European football to worry about, this is their primary focus. Liverpool are still going to be taking it to the final day as a result of their success yesterday against Newcastle, but in the end, that isn’t going to be enough to stop Pep’s men.