Manchester United face Leicester City Friday, Aug. 10, at Old Trafford as the English Premier League commences with a Red Devils-Foxes showdown. The matchup will mark the 89th EPL meeting between the two and the 45th contest in United’s territory.
Manchester United finished second in the EPL table with 81 points last season. Leicester, on the other hand, finished ninth with 47. With the table flushed clean, both the Red Devils and Foxes have a shot at vengeance — their last EPL match in Dec. 2017 ended in a 2-2 draw.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho goes head to head with Leicester’s Claude Puel, and both have had to contend with less-than-stellar preseasons due to the late returns of World Cup participants.
Puel was the former Southhampton manager, and he also coached Monaco at the turn of the century, winning the 1999-00 Ligue 1 title with les Monegasques. As for the “Chosen One,” winning the FA Community Shield in 2016 and the UEFA Europa League in 2016-17 have been the only accolades achieved with United thus far.
How to Watch Manchester United vs Leicester City: Date, Time, TV and Stream
Friday, August 10, 2018 | 3:00 p.m. ET
Old Trafford, Manchester
TV: NBCSN and Telemundo
Stream: NBC Sports Live, Fubo TV, Sling TV and Telemundo Deportes En Vivo
Manchester United vs Leicester City 2018 Predictions: Preview, Transfers, Team News
Manchester United Team News
Manchester United Transfers In
- Fred | CM (Shakhtar Donetsk)
- Diogo Dalot | RB (Porto)
- Lee Grant | GK (Stoke City)
Manchester United Transfers Out
- Daley Blind | LB (Ajax)
- Michael Carrick | CM (Retired) – Last of Alex Ferguson’s boys
Funny enough, United is one of the many prolific sides interested in Leicester’s Harry Maguire. The England star turned Mourinho’s neck, among many, given his brutally effective defending and leadership qualities at the World Cup.
Leicester, however, have been holding on to Maguire with an iron grip. The lack of compromise comes wisely as Leicester will definitely need to keep its best players given its rapid downfall after the club’s 2015-16 Premier League title. The underdog story led to the Foxes joining an elite team of only six clubs to ever win the EPL.
Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young have just returned to training and will probably start the match from the bench while they work to regain fitness.
Blending in #islandholidays pic.twitter.com/KN0vKsK8RL
— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) August 1, 2018
Manchester United Predicted Starting XI: De Gea; Lindelof, Bailly, Jones; Herrera, Fred, Pereira, Darmian, Mata; Martial, Lukaku
Leicester City Team News
Leicester Transfers In
- James Maddison | AM (Norwich)
- Ricardo Pereira | RB (FC Porto)
- Danny Ward | GK (Liverpool)
- Rachid Ghezzal | RW (Monaco)
- Jonny Evans | CB (West Brom)
Leicester Transfers Out
- Riyad Mahrez | RW (Manchester City)
- Ben Hamer | GK (Huddersfield)
- Robert Huth | CB (No Club)
- Ahmed Musa | LW (Al-Nassr)
#MUFC accounts .. Plz RT if you want to see @HarryMaguire93 in our @ManUtd Colours. @jonmikesav8 @donnamacbabe @dutchingmarkets @slimfastkid @McKenzieJoe9 @AnnetteH0526 @Jas_Rai_MUFC @KickAssCantona @DagheadThorburn @GazBFrance @MUFC_ReTweet @MrBryanDavies pic.twitter.com/hIOL0fxuiU
— Andrew Ruscoe (@andrew_ruscoe) August 7, 2018
If Leicester keep blocking Maguire-targeting bids, their defensive line should be virtually impenetrable— given Manchester United maintains its low-level attacking displays and bouts of inaccurate passing. Of course, there’s the imminent threat of Jamie Vardy.
Leicester City Predicted Starting XI: Schmeichel; Maguire, Chilwell, Simpson, Morgan; Albrighton, Iborra, Ndidi, Ghezzal; Vardy, Okazaki.
Manchester United vs Leicester City Prediction
The Red Devils have defeated the Foxes a total of 64 times. Leicester have beaten Manchester United 33 times. It’s also wise to keep in mind that the two often draw (29 total). Last season, United managed to beat Leicester 2-0 at Old Trafford and drew 2-2 at the King Power. However, Leicester has actually won the Premier League title more recently than United (the Red Devils last lifted the trophy in 2013).
The Devils haven’t exactly shown promise, let alone skill, during their preseason, disregarding the 2-1 victory over Real Madrid. If Leicester capitalize on the growing weakness among Mourinho’s troops, they could manage a draw or a 1-0 win. However, Manchester United, in the end, does have a superior set of players.
Manchester United win 1-0.
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