Man City will be looking for a tenth consecutive victory in all competitions when they host Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
While the Citizens look to cut the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal, the Foxes have hired manager Dean Smith to drag them away from the relegation struggle.
MATCH INFO
Manchester City vs Leicester City
DATE: 15 Apr 2023
TIME: 16:30 UTC
VENUE: Etihad Stadium stadium, Manchester city, England
Head to Head Record
29/10/22
FT: Leicester 0-1 Man City
26/12/21
FT: Man City 6-3 Leicester City
Manchester City vs Leicester City Preview
City’s chances of winning the treble this season have been enhanced by back-to-back Premier League and Champions League victories over Southampton and Bayern Munich.
On Tuesday, goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Braut Haaland secured a commanding 3-0 quarter-final first-leg win over their Bavarian counterparts, putting them on the verge of reaching their third consecutive Champions League semi-final.
Haaland had also scored twice for the Citizens three days earlier in a 4-1 win at St Mary’s, and that result, along with Arsenal surrendering points in a 2-2 draw at Liverpool, has brought Pep Guardiola’s side to within six points of the Premier League leaders.
Leicester City announced on Tuesday, eight days after the resignation of Brendan Rodgers, the selection of Dean Smith as the club’s new manager on a season-long contract until the conclusion of the season.
The former Aston Villa and Norwich City manager, who was dismissed by the latter in December, has recruited former Leicester City coaches Craig Shakespeare and John Terry to his backroom team and has eight games to keep the 2015-16 Premier League champions out of relegation trouble.
Leicester have dropped to 19th in the Premier League standings, two points outside of safety, after a run of seven defeats and one draw in their previous eight games, including a 1-0 home loss to relegation rivals Bournemouth last weekend.
Manchester City Team News
Manchester City striker Phil Foden is still out as he recovers from appendix surgery, but De Bruyne is fit to play after Guardiola dismissed concerns that he suffered an injury against Bayern.
Guardiola is set to make changes to his starting lineup with one eye on next week’s Champions League match in Germany, with Aymeric Laporte, Kyle Walker, and Rico Lewis all vying for the starting spot in defense.
Haaland, who has just returned from a groin ailment, will most likely be limited in minutes on Saturday, but the Premier League’s top scorer is set to lead the line, with Riyad Mahrez looking to replace Bernardo Silva on the right wing.
Leicester City Team News
Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira have both been ruled out with hamstring injuries and will be joined in the treatment room by James Justin and Ryan Bertrand (both knee), but Smith has revealed that Youri Tielemans will return to the matchday squad after recovering from an ankle ailment.
Jonny Evans was an unused substitute last weekend after recovering from a thigh injury, and the centre-back will be vying for a starting spot ahead of Daniel Amartey or Wout Faes. Smith might possibly remain with a four-man defense, having previously deployed one against Man City with both Villa and Norwich.
After serving a one-match suspension, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall is available for selection and might be returned.
Possible Lineups
Manchester City Predicted Starting XI:
Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish
Leicester City Predicted Starting XI:
Iversen; Castagne, Evans, Faes, Kristiansen; Dewsbury-Hall, Ndidi; Tete, Maddison, Daka; Vardy
Watch it live on Sofascore.