Manchester United vs Leicester Prediction – Sept-24-2016 – United to be Outfoxed - (2021)

Categories: Football | Published by: AC

21/09/2016

Updated: 30/07/2021

Manchester United vs Leicester Prediction - Sept-24-2016

English Premier League Preview – Manchester United vs Leicester Prediction – Sept 24, 2016 – Old Trafford

As if the defeat to Manchester City in last week's EPL Derby with city rivals Manchester City and a Europa Cup defeat to Feyenoord later on wasn't bad enough. For Manchester United the ultimate ignominy to end the week came in the form of a 1-3 pounding at the hands of an unfancied Watford at Vicerage Road. The cries for Jose Mourinho's head will heighten when he takes on Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday for a defining EPL clash.

Mourinho's prize acquisition of £100m, Paul Pogba, has been a no-show so far. Except for hitting the crossbar once in the encounter with Watford, the Frenchman has no memorable moment to show in the 4 matches he has appeared for his new club this season. Besides concerns surrounding his star acquisition's form, Wayne Rooney's ineffectiveness in a midfield role will only add to Mourinho's worries going into the September 24 clash.

Ibrahimovic and Rashford have shown enterprise upfront and got goals but that just hasn't been enough.

The reigning League champions seem to have recovered from the 1-4 mauling they were handed out at Anfield last week and have bounced back well. A superb debut in the UEFA Champions League was marked by a 3-0 away against Club Brugge and later on a 3-0 win against Burnley in a EPL clash.

Mahrez and Vardy have been among the goals once again with three each for the season so far. Islam Slimani, Claudio Ranieri's £29m acquisition from Sporting Lisbon, has got off to a flying start with a brace of goals against Burnley on his debut.

The Mahrez-Vardy-Slimani combine could prove to be a handful for the United defense and it would be surprising not to see a goal from one of them at Old Trafford on Saturday. For the Foxes, not having Kasper Schmeichel between the posts could have been a cause for concern, but Ranieri seemed to have found a perfect replacement by way of 27-year old Ron-Robert Zieler, who hasn't conceded a goal in his 2 appearances for the club so far.

Regardless of Leicester's comeback in the recent week and Manchester United's dismal show during the same period, the bookmakers seem inclined to give the boys from Old Trafford the better odds for Saturday evening's clash. Leicester City haven't won a single match at Old Trafford since 1997-98 and probably that could weigh heavily on the minds of the visitors.

Manchester United are on the 7th spot on the EPL table with 9 points and there would be immense pressure on Jose Mourinho to earn three more on Saturday and catapult his boys to the top 4 again.