EPL Matches preview and predictions
The English Premier League remains the most watched and competitive football league in the world. It is also the world's most valuable league, grossing 4 billion Dollars a year in revenue. Consequently, it remains the football league that spends most on player transfers.
Last summer, the Premier League teams spent a staggering 1.4 billion Euros on transfers to attract players to the league. This year seems to be no different, with the PL teams spending 1.2 billion dollars so far on transfers.
With teams actively spending on the transfer market, this season promises to be highly competitive. Several of the teams who finished in the top six on the league table last year have had sweeping changes in their squad.
Arsenal have appointed a new manager, Tottenham have kept almost their entire squad, Chelsea has sought the services of a new manager, Liverpool have spent staggering fees to lure new players to Anfield.
All the teams have augmented their squads and technical prowess to better place themselves in the coming season. Here, we take a look at the first week matches and make our predictions.
Manchester United vs Leicester City
This is the first match of the 2018-2019 Premier League season and the first home match for Manchester United. United have played against Leicester 88 times in the Premier League and have won 43, drawn 23 times and lost 22 times.
Out of the 44 home matches against Leicester, United have won 29 times, drawn 12 times and lost only on three occasions. This clearly suggests that United have the upper hand in today's game at the Old Trafford.
In the last four seasons, United have won four of their last eight Premier League matches with Leicester and have drawn on three times with Leicester picking just one win. Another thing going against Leicester is their bad record at the Old Trafford.
The last time Leicester won a Premier League match at Old Trafford was in the 1997-1998 season in which they won by a goal to nil. A major blow to Leicester will be the loss of Riyad Mahrez, a player who was influential in Leicester attacking setup and scored 12 goals to aid Leicester City's campaign.
As a team that launches 44% of its attacks on the left side of the pitch, Leicester will face a major blow with Mahrez's exit and are definitely going to feel his absence.
United have a strong history against Leicester, and also have a stronger attacking and defensive setup and are likely to come out victorious in today's match.