Pep Guardiola is expecting a tough clash with Leicester this weekend as the two clubs lock horns at the Eithad Stadium this weekend.
Guardiola said: “We know how tough it will be. They are leading the Premier League right now. It will be incredibly tough, we know that.”
Leicester City come into the game after two convincing victories against Burnley and West Brom. However, a 2-0 defeat midweek against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and an ever-increasing injury list, has put Manchester City has strong favourites. Ricardo Pereira, Filip Benkovic, and Wilfred Ndidi (who played centre back against Burnley) are all unavailable, whilst Johnny Evans is also a doubt.
Despite the injury list, Brendan Rodgers told LeicesterFC.com that he’s confident that his bench can step up on Sunday evening. Rodgers said: “We have players capable of stepping in. Papy [Mendy] has started the season very well. Hamza [Choudhury] was excellent against Arsenal and was defensively very good, so we have cover in that position.”
Leicester have only beaten Manchester City twice in their last 10 meetings, with Manchester City doing the league double over them last season. However, the Foxes spent most of last season challenging for second in the league, before fading post lockdown to fifth. Both teams possess a potent attack with Manchester City averaging 2.68 goals per game and Leicester averaging 1.76 goals a game. With both teams hit with defensive injuries, expect a high scoring affair, with Manchester City likely to be too strong.
Manchester City predicted line-up: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Ake, Mendy, Fernandinho, Rodrigo, Foden, De Bruyne, Sterling, Jesus
Leicester predicted line-up: Schmeichel, Justin, Soyuncu, Morgan, Castagne, Mendy, Barnes, Praet, Tielemans, Perez, Vardy