Manchester City will play against Leicester in the Premier League tonight as they aim to keep up with Arsenal in the title race. The Citizens are currently six points behind the league leaders but have a game in hand ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking to reduce that deficit to three points to put pressure on the Gunners before they face West Ham on Sunday. However, Dean Smith, who has replaced Brendan Rodgers, will be out to cause an upset in his first game as interim Leicester manager. Smith’s aim is to keep the Foxes in the Premier League as they are currently 19th in the table and have lost seven of their last eight games.
The match will take place on Saturday, April 15, at the Etihad Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 5:30 pm. The game will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. TalkSPORT will also provide updates of all the action in Manchester. To tune in to TalkSPORT or TalkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the TalkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker, and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
Man City XI will include Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Stones, Rodri, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, and Haaland. The substitutes are Ortega, Akanji, Ake, Gomez, Lewis, Gundogan, Palmer, Phillips, and Alvarez. Leicester XI will include Iversen, Faes, Souttar, Soyuncu, Castagne, Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans, Kristiansen, Maddison, and Vardy. The substitutes are Ward, Amartey, Thomas, Mendy, Marcal-Madivadua, Praet, Daka, Tete, and Iheanacho.
Jamie Vardy has played 299 Premier League games and could be the first Leicester player to make 300 appearances in the competition. He’s scored more league goals against Pep Guardiola’s Man City than any other player (8), while he’s one of just three players to be each of a club’s record appearance maker, goal scorer, and assister in the competition (along with Troy Deeney at Watford and Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace). Kelechi Iheanacho scored for Leicester in this exact fixture last season. The only former Man City player to score in consecutive Premier League away games against the Citizens is Paul Dickov, who did so in November 2003 and November 2004. Leicester midfielder James Maddison has scored in this exact fixture in each of the last two campaigns; only two visiting players have scored a Premier League goal at the Etihad in three consecutive seasons – Collins John (2004-05 to 2006-07) and Tim Cahill (2008-09 to 2010-11). Kevin De Bruyne has assisted seven goals for Erling Haaland in the Premier League this season, the most by one Man City player for another in a single campaign. The Belgian’s next assist will be his 100th for the Citizens in the competition. Erling Haaland has scored 30 Premier League goals for Manchester City this season, with only Andrew Cole netting more in their debut season in the competition (34 in 1993-94). The Norwegian is averaging a goal every 73 minutes so far and has a shot conversion rate of 32.3%. Leicester have faced the most shots from high turnovers in the Premier League this season (50), while Manchester City have scored more goals following a high turnover than any other side (9). Having lost seven of their last eight Premier League games (D1), Leicester have now lost 19 league matches overall this term.
Since losing 1-0 at Spurs in February, Man City have won seven of their last eight Premier League games (D1), including each of the last five in a row. They’ve scored 22 goals and conceded just six in this run, opening the scoring on seven occasions. Leicester won four of their first five Premier League visits to Man City (L1) but have since lost five of their last six games at the Etihad (W1). Manchester City have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games against Leicester City (L2), winning the last four in a row since a 5-2 home defeat in September 2020.
New Leicester manager Smith has spoken about why he took the job as Foxes manager ahead of his first game in charge. He said that the main reason he took the job is that Craig Shakespeare and John Terry wanted to come as well. Smith looked at the squad and fixtures and felt there were games there to be won. He believes that it’s not insurmountable to get out of the trouble they’re in. Smith also addressed the mentality of the players at the club after months without a win. He said that they’ve lost seven of the last eight games, so confidence is not high. However, he knows they’ve got the players there, and they just want to start putting a smile on their faces.
In conclusion, Manchester City will be looking to reduce their deficit to three points to put pressure on Arsenal before they face West Ham on Sunday. Leicester will be out to cause an upset in their first game under interim manager Dean Smith. The match will take place on Saturday, April 15, at the Etihad Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 5:30 pm. The game will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. TalkSPORT will also provide updates of all the action in Manchester.