Match Preview: Manchester United vs Leicester City
Manchester United host bottom placed Leicester City at the Old Trafford on Saturday. Last time these two sides met at the King Power stadium in September, Leicester City won 5-3 in an entertaining game. Since then a lot has changed, United have lost only 2 of their last 17 league games, while Leicester City have won just 2 of their last 17. A win for Manchester United will take them to third position if Southampton lose to Swansea at home. The Reds won their last game 2-0 against Queens Park Rangers, while Leicester City lost 1-0 to Stoke City at home.
Louis Van Gaal’s players will be hoping to get things back on track, after failing to win against League 2 side Cambridge United in the FA Cup, and hoping to put pressure on the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool for a Champions League berth next season.
Venue
Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United F.C. With a capacity of 75,635, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadium in the United Kingdom after Wembely Stadium, and the ninth-largest in Europe.
Kick off time
The match is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 PM IST.
Match Officals
Referee: Martin Atkinson Assistants: M Mullarkey, H Lennard Fourth Official: T Harrington
Probable Line ups
Manchester United (3-5-2): De Gea, Jones, Marcos Rojo, Blackett, Valencia, Herrera, Blind, Rooney, Shaw, Di Maria, Van Persie
Louis Van Gaal has a few injury concerns, with Michael Carrick sidelined for around four weeks with a ruptured muscle. Ashley Young, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling are all in-doubt for the game. Blackett who featured for the U21s against Liverpool and Marcos Rojo are set to start in their absence. Falcao might be dropped after a string of poor perfromances while Di Maria and Van Persie might pair up front. Ander Herrara is also expected to start in place of Michael Carrick.
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Hamer, Laet, Morgan, Wasilewski, Konchesky, King, Cambiasso, Schlupp, Kramaric, Vardy, Ulloa
Kasper Schmeichel and Matt Upson will miss the trip due to injury, while Matthew James is suspended. Liam Moore and Chris Wood are also doubts for the game. Record signing Kramaric is expected to start once again behind Ulloa. Wes Brown is expected to partner Wasilewski in the defence in the absence of other defenders. Nigel Pearson men must be running high on confidence after beating Tottenham in the FA Cup 5th round.
Match Facts
There have been just five goals in the last four Barclays Premier League matches involving Man Utd.
Leicester have won just one of their last nine Barclays Premier League away matches (W1 D1 L7).
Only Chelsea (19%) have scored with a higher percentage of their shots than Man Utd (17%).
Wes Morgan has blocked more shots than any other Barclays Premier League player this season (28).
Key Battles
Wayne Rooney vs Esteban Cambiasso
The 34-year-old Argentine might find it difficult to cope up with Wayne Rooney, who is expected to start in the midfield. Wayne Rooney’s last goal came against Newcastle United, and since then the England star has failed to score in 5 appearances. Rooney is expected to control the tempo of the game for Manchester United and might find it easier coming up against Cambiasso.
Robin van Persie vs Marcin Wasilewski
Robin Van Persie is set to replace Falcao in the starting XI and the Dutch striker won’t find a better opportunity to cement his place in the starting line-up. Wasilewski will find it difficult to stop the Dutch goal scoring machine, as he is expected to get enough suppy for his team-mates. Van Persie has scored 8 goals in 20 league appearances this season.
Predcition
We expect Manchester United to win the three points at Old Trafford.
Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City