Manchester United Vs Leicester City Football Match Score 19 February 2023
Manchester United welcome a resurgent Leicester City to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday. The hosts will be heavy favourites having not lost a domestic home game since the opening weekend of the season. Despite not wanting to label themselves as title challengers, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United are just five points off the Premier League summit going into the weekend.
Manchester United will be without Casemiro for their clash with Leicester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, as the Brazilian serves the last game of his three-match suspension. Casemiro was given a straight red card for violent conduct against Crystal Palace at the start of the month and missed their two matches with Leeds United last week. He did feature in the Europa League against Barcelona on Thursday, and will be available for selection next weekend when they face Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final at Wembley.
That could mean that Marcel Sabitzer gets a third consecutive start in his absence since arriving on loan from Bayern Munich on deadline day. Midfield is where most of United’s injury problems lie, as Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek are both out long term, while Scott McTominay remains a big doubt for this one.
That leaves Fred as their only other available senior central midfielder, so he should start alongside Sabitzer in the middle. Erik ten Hag changed his defence around for the trip to Leeds United last weekend, giving Harry Maguire a rare start, as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were left on the bench. Ten Hag could opt to do something similar again with the return leg of their Europa League tie with Barcelona coming up on Thursday.
In attack, Antony and Anthony Martial are both unlikely to feature here, as the duo recover from minor injuries, so Jadon Sancho could start again after showing some promising signs on his return from a lengthy layoff. Marcus Rashford has become undroppable at the moment for United, as he continues his knack of scoring vitally important goals. He scored their first goal in both league clashes with Leeds which helped them on their way to collecting four points, while also having a big impact at Camp Nou on Thursday, scoring and assisting as they came from behind before eventually drawing 2-2.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Sabitzer, Fred, Fernandes; Sancho, Weghorst, Rashford Manchester United will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions when they welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. United, who have won just one of their last six meetings with the Foxes, will be looking to build on Thursday evening’s impressive 2-2 draw with Barcelona in the Europa League and maintain their push for a top-four finish. The Reds are currently third in the Premier League table and, at the time of writing, are five points ahead of fourth-placed Newcastle United.
Victory over Leeds United last weekend marked a return to winning ways for the Reds, following their draw with the same opponent a few days earlier, meaning they will be looking to register back-to-back league wins for the first time since mid-January. Their league form has been slightly patchy in recent weeks. The visit of Leicester, however, will be considered as United’s least important fixture in the next week, with the second leg of their Europa League tussle with Barcelona and the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley to come. That means manager Erik ten Hag may have to juggle a few factors when naming his starting line-up.
David de Gea, however, is expected to retain his place between the sticks. He has started every Premier League game this season and will be targeting his 10th league clean sheet of the campaign and a first at Old Trafford since the 3-0 win over Bournemouth on January 3. Ahead of the Spaniard, Ten Hag is likely to make at least one change to his back-four and recall Lisandro Martinez at centre-back. He missed the draw with Barcelona through suspension and is expected to slide back into the heart of the defence alongside Raphael Varane.
That means Tyrell Malacia could drop out of the team and pave the way for Luke Shaw to return to his natural left-back berth. Aaron Wan-Bissaka deserves to keep his place at right-back. In midfield, United will welcome Marcel Sabitzer back into the fold after he missed the trip to Spain through suspension. He is expected to fill in for Casemiro, who will complete his three-match Premier League suspension against the Foxes. Fred and Bruno Fernandes are expected to complete the midfield-three.
Ten Hag, however, could face something of an attacking conundrum. Marcus Rashford started up front against Barcelona, as Wout Weghorst slotted into an unexpected No.10 role, meaning he could continue as the lone frontman against Brendan Rodgers’ side, supported by Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho. That is due to their excellent form since the World Cup, as United have lost only once in their 16 matches in all competitions following the return of club football.
The exploits of Marcus Rashford has been integral to that, as he has been in blistering form over the last two months. He has only failed to score in two matches where he has started since the mid-season break, racking up 22 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils now this season. He was on form again at Camp Nou on Thursday too, scoring the equaliser before getting the assist for Jules Kounde’s own goal.
They are in the ascendancy in that tie following a 2-2 draw away from home before the second leg on Thursday, meaning that they may well continue to fight on four fronts. Leicester also have a man in form, James Maddison, and his return from injury has come at a crucial time for the Foxes.
