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Leicester City vs Manchester City: Can Brendan Rodgers complete a famous double?

The King Power stadium plays host to a pivotal game concerning Champions League qualification.

When: Saturday, April 3, 17:30 BST

How to watch: Sky Sports

Best bets

Penalty in match at 9/5 (Unibet)

Kevin De Bruyne to score at 29/10 (William Hill)

Kelechi Iheanacho to score at 3/1 (Unibet)

What's changed since the Foxes won against City in September?

The last time these two sides met, Leicester pulled off a huge upset winning 5-2 at the Etihad.

Leicester's win moved them top of the league, albeit with only three games played but there is no denying a lot has changed since this result.

Man City's slump continued as they only won two of their next six games, sitting 16th in the league in November and playing no where near the standard everyone expects of the Manchester club.

Manager Pep Guardiola faced questions from the press over his desire to be at the club following their poor form and being seemingly miles from Liverpool, who won the league with ease the previous season.

Four months on, City are sitting at the top of the summit by 14 points and the reverse fixture of these two sides has seemingly been forgotten.
After only one defeat in 22 Premier League games, Guardiola's men are undoubtedly a different proposition to what they were in the first couple of months of the season.
While the Citizens are looking to wrap up the title in the coming weeks, Leicester have continued to impress this season and find themselves in third place and in a strong position to secure Champions League football next season.
They also have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to after defeating Manchester United 3-1 before the international break, highlighting the impressive job Brendan Rodgers has done.
The Foxes are 7/2 to win the domestic trophy with Sky Bet with Saturday's opponents 5/6 (William Hill) favourites to lift the cup.

Last three Premier League meetings:

Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City (September 27, 2020)

In a shock result, Leicester thrashed Man City at the Etihad in September. A Jamie Vardy hat-trick, which included two spot kicks, along with an excellent strike from James Maddison and a third penalty of the game, which was tucked home by Youri Tielemans, saw the club thrash Guardiola's men.

Man City, did however, start on top thanks to Riyad Mahrez scoring a right-footed volley. Leicester responded instantly and took advantage of City's early season defensive frailties and scored four goals without reply to make it 4-1.

Defender Nathan Ake got his first goal for Man City, which proved to be a mere consolation with Tielemans putting the final nail in the coffin by converting their third penalty.

Leicester City 0-1 Manchester City (February 22, 2020)

A late winner from Gabriel Jesus meant Man City took all three points in the 100th meeting between the sides.
It was far from plain sailing for Man City as Vardy went mighty close striking the post when through on goal.
Home Kit

Jamie Vardy has scored 12 goals in 25 Premier League appearances this season

Maddison also tested the reflexes of Ederson with a free-kick before Kevin De Bruyne almost broke the deadlock early in the second period, but for a good save from Kasper Schmeichel.

The keeper was once again called into action when Man City were awarded a penalty for handball. Sergio Aguero stepped up and Schmeichel guessed right, saving the penalty with his legs against his former club.

The away side did take the lead late in the game, with a poacher's finish from Jesus, who took his record with Leicester to four goals in five appearances.
City's victory saw them cement second place although they were 19 points behind Liverpool.

Manchester City 3-1 Leicester City (December 21, 2019)

An early Vardy goal was as good as it got for the Foxes as Man City came from behind to overcome their opponents 3-1.
De Bruyne struck the post with an effort from outside the box and soon after Leicester took the lead on the counter-attack against the run of play.
The match was level on 30 minutes before former Fox Mahrez cut in from the wing and his shot took a wicked deflection off Caglar Soyuncu and into the net.

Raheem Sterling then won his 17th Premier League penalty of his career and Ilkay Gundogan stepped up and gave Man City the lead.

Rodgers' side had a chance to equalise but Harvey Barnes fluffed a low cross from Vardy and in the end, they were left to pay the price as Jesus scored his first goal at the Etihad in 12 games.

Premier League head-to-head:

Played: 19

Manchester City won: 10

Drawn: 2

Leicester City won: 7

Manchester City scored: 27

Leicester City scored: 24

Rodgers' inconsistent Leicester

Leicester head into Saturday's game on the back of a three game winning run which has seen them defeat Brighton and Hove Albion and Sheffield United before an FA Cup quarter-final win over Man United.

If Rodgers' team deliver the same level of performance as they displayed for long periods in recent fixtures then they could very well earn yet another surprise victory over Guardiola and all but confirm Champions League status for next season.
The Foxes, though, have been inconsistent at times, especially in Europe where they were eliminated from the Europa League by Czech side Slavia Prague.

Could a collapse like last season see them miss out on a top four finish? 

Leicester's next six Premier League games:

Manchester City (H)
West Ham (A)
West Brom (H)
Crystal Palace (H)
Southampton (A)
Newcastle (H)

If Leicester perform as expected in these matches they could challenge Man United for second position. The Foxes are 4/1 with William Hill for a top two finish.

Scoreline prediction: Leicester City 1-2 Manchester City

With the announcement that Sergio Aguero is leaving the Citizens at the end of the season, the pressure will be on the rest of the team to ensure the Argentine leaves on the back of a successful final year at the club.

Pep Guardiola feels Sergio Aguero is ‘irreplaceable’ at Manchester City

City come into the game on the back of a record 17th away win in a row, and defeated Everton 2-0 in the FA Cup in their last outing. Although Leicester comfortably beat their opponents in the reverse fixture, they now face a completely different proposition.

With Man City expected to have the majority of the possession, the Foxes biggest hope lies on the counter attack with pacey players such as Vardy and Iheanacho, but this threat is not expected to be enough to take anything from the game.

This being said, Guardiola's team are unlikely to let up and seem firmly focussed on winning the title as soon as possible and if they take all three points on Saturday evening, it would be a huge step closer to being crowned champions.

Goalscorer bets

Leicester striker Iheanacho is in a rich vein of form with six goals in his previous three games, including a hat-trick against Sheffield United.

The Nigerian striker is 3/1 to score anytime with Unibet.
Penalty kicks have become a common occurrence in recent meetings between the two teams and in addition to being Man City's regular penalty taker, De Bruyne is back to displaying world class performances having recovered from an injury earlier this season.
He is 29/10 to net with William Hill at any time.

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