Manchester City vs Leicester prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2025-04-01 18:45.
[p]Manchester City still have work to do with nine Premier League games remaining to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after winning just one of their last four English top-flight outings (D1, L2). Although they still have a shot at silverware this year via the FA Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, it has been an unexpectedly underwhelming campaign for Pep Guardiola’s four-time defending league champions.[/p]
[p]City’s struggles have been evident at home, where they are now on the cusp of going three consecutive matches in the league without a win (D1, L1) for the first time since December 2023. The arrival of struggling Leicester City could offer the Cityzens some relief given that they have dominated recent encounters at the Etihad (W8, L2), with those fixtures producing an average of 4.6 goals per game![/p]
[p]If plenty of goals are on the cards, it seems unlikely that Leicester will be providing many of them, having lost their last six league matches without scoring, which saw them head into the international break nine points adrift of safety. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men may therefore be more likely to equal an unwanted record here by becoming only the fourth side to lose seven successive English top-flight games without finding the net.[/p]
[p]With Championship football next season looking inevitable, there is a real risk of the Foxes emulating Sunderland (1977), Ipswich (1995) and Crystal Palace (2017) in that regard after losing their last five games against City. And considering that only Southampton have collected fewer Premier League away points this term, the chances of another rare victory here for the East Midlanders seem slim.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Omar Marmoush has scored five times for Man City since arriving in January, including their winner over Bournemouth in the FA Cup on Sunday with his only second-half goal for the club – all four of his league strikes have come between the 15th and 40th minutes. Bilal El Khannouss netted the winner in Leicester’s last victory at Tottenham Hotspur in late January and also scored away from home for Morocco during the March international break.[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Man City have won each of their last 12 league games against promoted sides.[/p]
[p][i]Written by John Pennington[/i][/p]