Man City on Revenge Mission to King Power Stadium

Man City on Revenge Mission to King Power Stadium

Ronaldo set for United’s second debut
Manchester City’s start to the season was far from blissful. First, Pep Guardiola side were humbled 1-0 in the Community Shield by their today’s opponent-Leicester City and went on to lose by the same margin in the season’s league opener to Tottenham Hotspur. The Citizens however recovered fast from those two losses and went on to score 10 goals without conceding any in their next two games. Against the Foxes whom they had lost two of their three matches to would indeed be an intriguing duel

Manchester City will be looking to make it three straight Premier League victories when they resume their domestic campaign away to Leicester City this afternoon.
The Citizens have collected six points from their first three matches to sit seventh on the table, while Leicester have also picked up six points to occupy ninth after three rounds of fixtures in England’s top flight.

Leicester have already beaten Man City in a competitive fixture this season, running out 1-0 winners in the Community Shield last month, and the Foxes then started their 2021-22 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 success over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the King Power Stadium.

Brendan Rodgers’s side suffered a 4-1 defeat at West Ham United in their second game, though, with Ayoze Perez receiving a straight red card in a difficult match for the FA Cup holders.
Leicester managed to return to winning ways before the international break, as goals from Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton allowed them to beat Norwich City 2-1, and a return of six points from three matches has left the top-four hopefuls in ninth position, three points off leaders Tottenham Hotspur.

The Foxes will begin their Europa League group-stage campaign with a mouthwatering clash against Napoli next week, while a busy end to September will also see them face Millwall in the EFL Cup – a competition that is unlikely to be taken too seriously by the club this term due to their other commitments.

Leicester have now won two of their last three matches against Man City, but they have not actually beaten the reigning English champions at the King Power Stadium since December 2018, when Ricardo Pereira came up with a late winner for Claude Puel’s team.

Man City’s start to the 2021-22 campaign was underwhelming, as they followed the Community Shield loss to Leicester with a 1-0 defeat away to Tottenham in their Premier League opener.
The Citizens did not manage to sign Harry Kane over the summer despite a long pursuit but have been irresistible in their last two matches, recording back-to-back 5-0 home wins over Norwich City and Arsenal to move onto six points, which has left them in seventh position.

Like Leicester, Pep Guardiola’s side will begin their European campaign next week, facing RB Leipzig at home in the Champions League, while the club will take on Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup on September 21, in addition to facing Leicester, Southampton, Chelsea in the league during a busy period.

Man City will know that they cannot afford to drop too many points in the early stages of the season, and their two recent excellent results have come at the Etihad Stadium, so it will be a huge test for the champions this weekend away to a Leicester side capable of beating any side in the division.

The Citizens had the best away record in the Premier League last term, though, picking up 45 points from their 19 matches, and Guardiola’s team will be full of confidence heading into today’s interesting battle.
Interestingly, City’s neighbour, Manchester United will be looking to record their third Premier League win of the season when they welcome Newcastle United to Old Trafford today.

The match is expected to mark the second debut of Cristiano Ronaldo, who incredibly returned to Old Trafford from Juventus in the final stages of the summer transfer window.

Ronaldo is set to pull on the famous Man United shirt for the first time since 2009 this weekend, as the Portugal international prepares to make his second debut for the Red Devils.
An early release from international duty has allowed the 36-year-old to train with his new teammates this week, and it appears likely that he will go straight into the starting XI for today’s clash with Newcastle, which will be some occasion.

The return of the former Sporting Lisbon youngster is a huge story, but Man United cannot afford to take their eye off the ball in terms of picking up a strong result, as they have already dropped two disappointing points away to Southampton in the early stages of the season.

That said, a return of seven points from three matches represents a solid start, beating Leeds United 5-1 in their opener before recording a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break courtesy of a late effort from Mason Greenwood, who has three goals in three outings this term.

The league table is not too important at this stage, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side occupy third position, two points behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur; it will be a busy end to the month for the club, meanwhile, as they feature in both the Champions League and EFL Cup.

Indeed, Man United will open their Champions League group-stage campaign away to Young Boys on September 14, while West Ham United will be their opponents in the EFL Cup on September 22, just three days after the two teams lock horns in the Premier League at the London Stadium.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have made a disappointing start to the 2021-22 Premier League season, picking up just one point from their three matches, which has left them in 17th position in the table.
The Magpies opened their season with back-to-back defeats to West Ham United and Aston Villa before losing on penalties to Burnley in the second round of the EFL Cup.

Steve Bruce’s side did manage to pick up a point at home to Southampton before the international break, though, with Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin on the scoresheet, and Newcastle will surely need to have their shooting boots on this weekend to stand a chance of picking up a positive result.

The Magpies only have the Premier League to worry about until their FA Cup campaign starts, meaning that they only have three fixtures before the end of the month, facing Man United, Leeds United and Watford, and it will be fascinating to see where they sit in the table heading into October.

Newcastle have lost their last three Premier League games against Man United, including a 3-1 defeat in the corresponding match at Old Trafford last term, while the club have not won away at the 20-time English champions in the league since December 2013, which is an indication of the size of their task today..

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