With Arsenal having to travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City this weekend, Manchester United certainly have the easier game on paper in this round of Premier League fixtures. Whether Arsenal drop points or not, this is a game that Manchester United will need to win if they're going to reach their goal of finishing in the top 4 this season.

Current Form

Leicester

Despite a very good draw against Liverpool in the previous round of fixtures, Leicester have been going through a patch of rough form recently. It's difficult to assess where this Leicester team should actually be aiming for as, although they won the league a few seasons ago, that was certainly an anomaly. Midtable is probably the best Leicester supporters can hope for and that's exactly what they're getting at the moment with the team sitting in 11th place on 32 points. In their previous 5 games, Leicester won 1, lost 3, and drew 1.

Statistically, Leicester have been perfectly balanced in attack and defence this season and that explains why they're sat in midtable. Offensively, they've scored 30 times, an average of 1.25 goals per game. However, they've also conceded 30 times so as obvious as it is to state, they either need to start scoring more or conceding less if they want to stop hovering around in the middle of the pack.

Manchester United

A draw with Burnley in the previous round of fixtures saw Manchester United's perfect record under Solskjær come to an end. This allowed Arsenal to pull ahead by 2 points, but there is enough time for them to catch up before the end of the season. In their previous 5 games, Manchester United won 4 and drew 1.

Statistically, Manchester United have been pretty average when you take the entire season into account. However, they have been better since Mourinho vacated his position at the club. Offensively, they've scored 48 times so far, an average of 1.92 goals per game. However, they have also conceded 35 times, an average of 1.40 goals per game and this is the area of the pitch in which Manchester United need to improve.

Head to Head

In the previous 10 meetings between the clubs, Leicester won 1, Manchester United won 6, and there were 3 draws. Since Leicester won 5-3 in this fixture back in September 2014, they have failed to record a win against Manchester United and lost 5 of the previous 6 games between the clubs.

Analysis

Leicester

Despite a positive result against Liverpool on Wednesday, Leicester have been struggling lately and it's difficult to analyse whether their performance was the reason for the draw or if Liverpool were struggling with the icy conditions at Anfield. Nonetheless, Leicester will take confidence from that result and can use that to their benefit against Manchester United on Sunday. The fact that Manchester United's perfect record was ended by Burnley will also give Leicester the confidence that they can indeed get a result here if they play well.

Since Solskjær took over as manager at Manchester United, they have been playing much more attacking football and this is something Leicester will need to be cautious of. Playing expansive football may not be the way to go here as the Manchester United attack does have a great deal of quality within it. Perhaps Leicester's best chance is to keep things compact, inviting Manchester United forward, and then making use of Vardy's pace up front to spring counter-attacks to test the fragile defensive line of Solskjær's team. However, it would also be unwise to sit too deep for large spells of the game as Leicester may find themselves unable to get out of their own half, allowing Manchester United to create too many opportunities in front of goal.

Manchester United

As Arsenal are having to play against Manchester City this weekend, this could be a potential opportunity for Manchester United to leapfrog them in the league table. Of course, Arsenal could get a result against the blue half of Manchester, and this is why it's so important for Solskjær's team to make an impact here against Leicester. These are the kind of games that Manchester United simply need to win in order to have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Strategically, Manchester United will most likely be playing the kind of attacking football we've all been accustomed to watching since Solskjær took over from Mourinho. Pogba is likely to be instrumental if Manchester United are to take 3 points here as he can orchestrate attacking phases if he is able to take some form of control over the midfield battles. However, Manchester United will need to be cautious not to over-commit when attacking because Vardy has enough pace at the other end of the pitch to get in behind the defenders and test de Gea. A more controlled approach to the game may be wise.

Predictions

Although Leicester walked away from Anfield with a point on Wednesday, I believe a lot of that can be attributed to the weather conditions and a drop in performance from Liverpool. With that in mind, I still expect Manchester United to take all 3 points from this game if they play to their strengths.

Prediction: Manchester United win

Score Prediction: Leicester 1 - 2 Manchester United

Betting Picks

At odds of 2.203 for a Manchester United win, I was happy to take a position on this market. I have also placed a couple of small bets on the over 2.5 and over 3.5 goals markets.

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