The international break is over and club football is back!
The Premier League returns this weekend and one of the standout fixtures sees third place Leicester host runaway leaders Manchester City.
After a rocky few weeks threatened to derail the Foxes’ bid to secure Champions League football, Brendan Rodgers’ side picked up two impressive league wins prior to the international break as well as booking their place in the semi-final of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win over Manchester United.
Meanwhile, the City juggernaut continues to steamroll its way through any opposition who dare come before them. Any hopes that their defeat to city rivals United might see the wheels falls off a little were soon banished as Pep Guardiola’s side won all of their next four outings, conceding just two goals in the process.
Here’s 90min’s preview of what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter…
When is the match? Saturday 3 April
What time is kick off? 17:30 GMT
Where is it being played? King Power Stadium
TV Channel: Sky Sports Main Event (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee: Paul Tierney
VAR: Timothy Wood
Rodgers will have been keeping a keen eye on the members of his squad involved in international duty over the past couple of weeks, with Dennis Praet potentially putting himself in contention for a start with a fine display for Belgium against Belarus.
The Foxes will be without James Justin and Harvey Barnes for the visit of the champions elect, while James Maddison, Ricardo Pereira, Cengiz Under and Wes Morgan are all expected to undergo late fitness tests.
Despite the recent announcement that Sergio Aguero would be leaving the club at the end of the season, it’s tough to see Guardiola affording the frontman a farewell tour over the next few months given his lack of regular football this season.
The Catalan tactician has a fully-fit squad at his disposal for the trip the the King Power Stadium on Saturday, and he too will likely make one or two decisions based on how much international football his players were involved in recently.
Leicester: Schmeichel; Evans, Soyuncu, Fofana; Albrighton, Ndidi, Tielemans, Praet, Castagne; Iheanacho, Vardy.
Man City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling.
Leicester
Leicester 3-1 Manchester United – 21/03/2021
Leicester 5-0 Sheffield United – 14/03/2021
Brighton 1-2 Leicester – 06/03/2021
Burnley 1-1 Leicester – 03/03/2021
Leicester 1-3 Arsenal – 28/02/2021
Manchester City
Everton 0-2 Manchester City – 20/03/2021
Manchester City 2-0 Borussia Monchengladbach – 16/03/2021
Fulham 0-3 Manchester City – 13/03/201
Manchester City 5-2 Southampton – 10/03/2021
Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United – 07/03/2021
When these two sides met earlier in the season Guardiola’s side were absolutely blown away by the Foxes, with a Jamie Vardy hat-trick helping Leicester secure a convincing 5-2 with at the Etihad Stadium.
However, the City of the opening few months of the season were a far different proposition to the side we’ve been treated to over the past few months. Guardiola’s men have one hand on the Premier League trophy, though their defeat to United in early March proves they’re not invincible.
Both these teams love to attack, and with the Foxes frontline looking razor sharp of late, we should be in for an absolute cracker.
Prediction: Leicester 2-2 Manchester City