Manchester City vs Leicester prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-04-14 16:30.
Talk of a potential treble-winning season intensified after Manchester City put one foot in the Champions League semi-final with a resounding 3-0 win over Bayern Munich during the week. That victory was their ninth in succession, and with a game in hand over Premier League (PL) leaders Arsenal and six points to make up, the title race remains alive.
The sight of Leicester City should be welcomed as Pep Guardiola’s men have triumphed in ten of the last 12 PL H2Hs (L2). That’s not to mention the Cityzens’ incredible form in the PL which has seen them win seven of their last eight games since a 1-0 loss to Spurs in February, whilst also striking first on seven occasions during their current hot streak.
PL champions in 2015, Leicester, now teeter on the brink of relegation as Brendan Rodgers was axed for interim manager Dean Smith, who signed on until the end of the season. The Foxes entered this round two points adrift of safety after picking up just one of the last 24 available points (D1, L7), although a defiant Smith declared upon his arrival “if I thought it was insurmountable then I wouldn’t have come”.
This is surely a free hit for the Foxes, who enter this clash as rank outsiders given their plight. It could be a landmark day for Jamie Vardy, as the now bit-part player could become the first player to reach 300 PL appearances for the club should he feature, which may give the fans something better to talk about than the fact they had lost four of their last eight competitive away games without reply (W2, D1, L5).
Players to watch: Described by Guardiola last weekend as “a machine like Cristiano Ronaldo”, City’s Erling Haaland broke the record for most competitive goals by a PL player in a season with his strike against Bayern (G45), and is now four shy of the all-time record for goals in one PL season. Trying to outdo him will be Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho, the former City player who contributed to three goals before half-time in the Foxes’ only PL away win since last November.
Hot stat: Manchester City have picked up 28 of 30 available PL points when scoring first at home this season (W9, D1).