With two draws and three defeats already, Leicester City would be hoping to revive their Premier League season with Manchester United’s visit to the King Power Stadium.
The Red Devils have dropped five points in the last two league matches and will be hoping to get back to winning ways against a Brendan Rodgers side with an ambition to end the season with a top-four finish
Manchester United will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they head to the King Power Stadium this afternoon to take on an inconsistent Leicester City.
The Red Devils are currently fourth in the table with 14 points to show from their opening seven matches of the season, while Leicester sit down in 13th, picking up just eight points from seven games this term.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a disappointing start to the season for Leicester, who would have once again had ambitions of challenging for a top-four finish this term; that could still be the case, but the Foxes currently look well short of a side capable of claiming a Champions League spot.
A record of two wins, two draws and three defeats from seven matches has seen Brendan Rodgers’s side collect eight points, which has left them down in 13th position in the table.
Leicester lost back-to-back league fixtures against Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion in the middle of September, while they have shared the points with Burnley and Crystal Palace in their last two league fixtures, both of which have finished 2-2.
The Foxes also have work to do in the Europa League this season, as a total of one point from two matches has left them bottom of Group C.
The FA Cup holders will view this match as the perfect chance to kickstart their season, and they are unbeaten in their last three games against Man United in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in the Premier League back in May.
Man United, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Everton before the international break; Anthony Martial sent the Red Devils ahead at Old Trafford, but Andros Townsend levelled for the visitors, who also had a late winner disallowed by VAR for offside.
The 20-time English champions have only picked up one point from their last two in the league, having also lost at home to Aston Villa on September 25, but a record of four wins, two draws and one defeat from seven games has seen them collect 14 points, leaving them in fourth spot in the table.
There is pressure building on head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the club are only two points off the top of the Premier League entering the next set of fixtures.
Man United have work to do in the Champions League despite beating Villarreal at Old Trafford at the end of September, and they are now staring at a daunting run of fixtures which includes two European games against Atalanta BC, in addition to league games with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Man City.
The Red Devils have lost just one of their last 15 Premier League away games against Leicester, recording nine wins in the process, while their incredible unbeaten run on the road in the league now stands at 29 matches, since a 2-0 loss at Liverpool in January 2020.
Meanwhile, Claudio Ranieri prepares for a baptism of fire in his first game back in the Premier League, with his Watford side welcoming a rampant Liverpool to Vicarage Road today .
The Hornets lost 1-0 to Leeds United during Xisco Munoz’s last game in charge, while Jurgen Klopp’s men played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
After Watford’s trigger-happy board relieved Xisco of his duties – a decision that received mixed responses given their respectable start to life back in the big time – the Hornets wasted no time in bringing back revered title-winner Ranieri following the end of his Sampdoria spell.
The former Leicester City, Chelsea and Fulham coach has immediately brought a charismatic energy back to the Premier League – vowing to take his side out for dinner should they keep a clean sheet this weekend – but the Hornets’ most recent battle on the pitch did not go according to plan.
Having taken four points from fixtures with Norwich City and Newcastle United, Watford’s last game under Xisco ended in a 1-0 defeat to Leeds, with Diego Llorente scoring the game’s only goal 18 minutes into the game to swiftly halt the Hornets’ momentum.
Ranieri takes the reins with Watford lying 15th in the table with seven points taken from a possible 21, and there is a comfortable four-point gap separating them from the relegation zone at this early stage.
While the arrival of Ranieri could be an added incentive for Watford, but the Hornets have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 17 Premier League games, and that streak is unlikely to end against one of the most potent attackers in world football.
Refusing to let the constant speculation surrounding his contract situation affect him, Mohamed Salah continues to stake his claim as one of the best in the world with the pick of the bunch in a pulsating draw with Man City just before the international break.
After laying the ball on a plate for Sadio Mane to draw first blood, Salah weaved his way through a sea of blue shirts before smashing home past Ederson in front of the Anfield faithful, but strikes from Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne ensured that Liverpool would have to settle for a point.
The Reds could not hold their position atop the rankings following that terrific watch for the neutrals and have now dropped to second place – one point adrift of leaders Chelsea, but they remain the only team in the division yet to suffer defeat this term.
Klopp must also factor in next week’s Champions League battle with Atletico Madrid as he prepares to navigate another unrelenting fixture schedule, but his side are now unbeaten in 19 competitive fixtures across all tournaments and have scored three goals in each of their last four Premier League games away from home.
However, the Reds will need no reminding how an Ismaila Sarr-inspired Watford stormed to a 3-0 success in February 2020 to end their 18-game winning run, and with Ranieri boasting four wins from five home league games against Liverpool, the Vicarage Road faithful have every right to dream of a memorable start to the Italian’s reign.
Meanwhile, Manchester City will aim to make an immediate return to winning ways in the Premier League when they take on Burnley at the Etihad this afternoon.
A 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in their most recent European battle and a 2-2 draw with Liverpool means that City head into today’s game aiming to avoid a third game without a win in all competitions, but they remain unbeaten at home this season and have kept four Premier League clean sheets in succession at the Etihad, the most recent of which came in a goalless draw with Southampton.
Only leaders Chelsea have also conceded a league-low three goals so far this season, and not since 2010 have City failed to score in successive home matches in the Premier League – a streak which is highly unlikely to end anytime soon.
