Leicester City vs Manchester City

King Power Stadium sets the stage for a high-stakes Premier League showdown between Leicester City and Manchester City.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s feeble attempt to steer Leicester City away from the bottom three took another hit on Boxing Day as Liverpool thrashed his side 3-1 at Anfield, extending their losing league streak to three. Back in the drop zone, Leicester head into their final Premier League game of 2024, seeking to end a four-game losing league run against Manchester City. However, a substandard return of just one win from their last five home league outings paints a bleak picture (D1, L3). Entertainment, on the other hand, is a virtual certainty. Indeed, 14 of Leicester’s 18 top-flight fixtures this term have seen both teams on the scoresheet. That’s a boost for the hosts, considering their last two home meetings with Man City have yielded identical 1-0 defeats.

On the other hand, Manchester City’s unfathomable fall from grace continued on Boxing Day as Erling Haaland wasted a penalty in a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw against Everton. As a result, Pep Guardiola’s downtrodden champions have dropped an alarming 12 league points from leading positions this season! More importantly, they’ve now won just one of their last 13 matches across all competitions (D3, L9). A fifth consecutive Premier League title sounds like a pipe dream, considering they trail pacesetters Liverpool by 14 points. Man City’s abysmal run of four defeats from their last five away league games is equally troublesome (D1) as they stare down the barrel of a sixth successive winless top-flight fixture on the road for the first time since December 2015.