Manchester City will challenge Leicester City in the nineteenth round of the Premier League. While the hosts are at the head of the table and in great shape, the guests are up to ninth, which certainly does not cause satisfaction in the club.
In the last round, the Citizens made a trip to Newcastle and returned extremely satisfied. They took a 4-0 win, with goals scored by Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling. Before that, they blew Leeds 7-0 again, so they must be in a really relaxed mood. City have won ten of the 11 home games since October and moved from third to first. In addition, they have already won three times in a row in the first post-Christmas duel, which can give them another dose of confidence. However, Guardiola’s coach will have to do without the injured Ferran Torres or the beaten Benjamin Mendy.
“We had two days off. Now we start training this afternoon and we’ll see. We do tests every day. I can’t answer you now, but let’s hope we’re as ready for Sunday’s game as possible.” said Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola after Christmas. “The players have returned after a few days of rest before the busy holiday program, playing games against Leicester City, Brentford and Arsenal during the week, but now I can’t say who will be available and who will not.”
Leicester played the last duel in the quarterfinals of the League Cup, when he lost to Liverpool, who was more successful on a 5: 4 penalty after a 3: 3 draw. At the same time, Leicester led quickly thanks to two goals by Jamie Vardy 2: 0 and then 3: 1 after the reduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the subsequent increase of the lead by James Maddison. However, Diogo Jota equalized for the Reds in the second half and Takumi Minamino in the last minute and Jota turned the decisive penalty kick. In the Premier League, the Foxes last beat Newcastle 4-0. Leicester had the last round against Everton postponed due to the covid, so its players had more time to rest.
“It’s a nice program on Boxing Day, isn’t it? Now seriously. It’s another very difficult place to go to play, but we have to take into account how we played the first half in Liverpool and that we’re at Etihad Stadium last year. They won 5: 2. If we think about it, I think we can succeed. But we have one of the best teams of our time ever, so we have to concentrate as much as possible. “ Leicester midfielder James Maddison said.
The last duel between the City and Leicester took place in September this year and the Citizens won thanks to a shot by Bernard Silva from the second half 1: 0.
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Ederson – Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko – De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva – Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling.
Schmeichel – Vestergaard, Ndidi, Bertrand – Albrighton, Tielemans, Soumaré, Thomas – Maddison, Daka, Lookman.
