Manchester City will look to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal as they host struggling Leicester City in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Manchester City vs Leicester: Saturday, 5:30pm
Key stats
- Manchester City have scored 21 goals in their last five matches.
- Manchester City have won 22 of their 24 competitive home matches this season.
- Despite their struggles, Leicester have scored 23 goals in 15 away matches.
Manchester City vs Leicester – Verdict
If it wasn’t already clear, Manchester City’s 3-0 win against Bayern Munich let the world know they are back to their absolute best.
Pep Guardiola’s men have scored 24 goals in their last five matches and have dismantled everyone in front of them.
First came the 7-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig where Erling Haaland scored a first-half hat-trick before adding two more after the break. Championship Burnley fared slightly better, losing 6-0, as Haaland again netted three.
The Norwegian machine’s absence against Liverpool was barely noticed as goals from Julian Alvarez, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish fired them to a 4-1 win.
Haaland returned for the 4-1 victory over Southampton, notching his 29th and 30th Premier League goals of the season, leaving him just five away from setting a new league record.
In stark contrast, Leicester City are winless in nine games in all competitions. If City’s form was captured by their win over Bayern, then Leicester’s is represented by their FA Cup loss to Blackburn.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester side had been so shambolic that a majority of sides in the Championship would give them a game, so it was no surprise when he was sacked last week.
It seems fair to question the timing of the sacking given the club have been in freefall since mid-February, particularly as a large part of the fanbase had been vocal about Rodgers for some time.
Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler took charge on a temporary basis but were unable to prevent defeats to Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth, both of which look crucial in the relegation battle.
The lack of response to their current situation is alarming and it does beg the question if Leicester are too far gone, but on paper, they are only two points from safety with eight games to go.
Appointing Dean Smith in time for the City game may prove a waste of that new manager bounce, but you never say never, and City’s defence, which has conceded in each of their last two Premier League games, should at least allow Leicester to find the net and make it interesting.
