Premier League: Man City host in-form Leicester City without Ndidi
Manchester City host an in-form Leicester City in the third matchday of the Premier League.
Man City registered a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Wolverhampton in their opening match of the season. Meanwhile, Leicester won both of their matches so far, scoring seven goals and conceding only two in the process.
Even though Manchester City are on a three-match winning streak against the Foxes, Leicester have always been a very difficult opponent for them. Man City cannot afford to lose points from these kinds of matches to have any chance of dethroning Liverpool. On the other hand, Leicester will be keen to make a huge statement with a positive result against the Citizens.
Considering the quality of players in both teams, we can expect an intense game of the highest quality. This tactical analysis will give you a preview into one of the most exciting matchups in the English top flight.
Man City have a few important players sidelined due to injury, including the likes Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Agüero, İlkay Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva and João Cancelo. With none of their first team strikers available for the match, Guardiola might be forced to draft in academy prospect – Liam Delap. Delap started in their cup tie against Bournemouth and capped it off with a brilliantly taken goal. Meanwhile, Leicester have two key players missing, with both Ricardo Pereira and Wilfred Ndidi not expected to return soon.
Pep Guardiola is expected to line them up in a similar setup to their win against Wolves. Laporte is set to return and will surely replace John Stones in the starting XI. Meanwhile, Riyad Mahrez, despite starting in the EFL Cup against Bournemouth, will be starting on the bench as Phil Foden is in excellent form at the moment.
Brendan Rodgers won’t be making any significant changes to the starting XI from their win against Burnley. Jonny Evans is set to return and will partner Söyüncü at the heart of the defence. Even though James Maddison started in the EFL Cup tie against Arsenal, he will be relegated to the bench as Praet has been in splendid form in the last two matches.
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Manchester City are one of the most dynamic attacking team in Europe. They scored the most goals in the division last season with 102 goals – 17 goals ahead of Liverpool. As a result of this, most teams will try to sit back and cede possession when playing against them. Leicester are expected to do the same.
How will Manchester City break down the mid-low blocks? The following analysis will give us an insight into some of their movements and tactics while attacking.