Leicester City are back at Old Trafford for their first Premier League fixture of the 2024/25 season against Manchester United.
Two desperate sides will clash when Manchester United host Leicester City as they both look for points that will steer them further up the league standings.
United won 3-0 in Leicester’s last visit to Old Trafford with Marcus Rashford scoring a brace and Jadon Sancho also getting on the scoresheet. That made it back-to-back wins for the Red Devils against Leicester, but the Foxes have also enjoyed glorious outings against the record English champions.
After Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in Manchester United, a complete overhaul of the club’s board followed as they embarked on an eventful summer transfer window. They certainly began the 2024/25 season with renewed optimism for the immediate future.
An end-of-season review saw United settle with Erik ten Hag despite speaking to potential replacements as they eventually decided to stick with the Dutchman following the FA Cup final victory against Manchester City.
Ten Hag was handed a contract extension with a new backroom staff as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake joined to replace Steve McClaren, Benni McCarthy, and Mitchell van der Gaag.
Nevertheless, the Mancunians are veering into another crisis after a poor start to the season which has left them 12th in the Premier League.
A slim victory over Fulham on the opening day failed to inspire Man Utd as they lost to Brighton and Liverpool thereafter. Wins against Southampton and Barnsley were promising but the feeling of disappointment was back in draws against Crystal Palace and FC Twente.
The pressure is back on Ten Hag after an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Tottenham which leaves them on seven points, the club’s joint-lowest after six games of a Premier League season.
Indeed, familiar bad habits like not putting enough pressure on the ball and being so easy to play against continue to haunt them. Ten Hag must shoulder most of the blame and he desperately needs to turn things around to prevent further crises.
Meanwhile, Steve Cooper is still looking for his first Premier League win as Foxes boss and a result at the Theatre of Dreams would be sensational for the Welshman.
Although Leicester are winless in the last three meetings with United, they won each of the previous three in all competitions.
Leicester gained promotion at the first time of asking as they won the EFL Championship under Enzo Maresca last season. Cooper replaced the Italian and brought in nine new players including Bobby Decordova-Reid, Oliver Skipp, Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard to offer Premier League experience.
An encouraging opening day draw against Tottenham was followed by losses to Fulham and Aston Villa, then consecutive draws against Crystal Palace and Everton.
They impressively fought back from 2-0 down in the first half away to Arsenal and drew level until added-time goals from Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a 4-2 win. Performances have steadily improved and Cooper has stuck with a 4-2-3-1 system with less emphasis on ball possession.
The Leicester manager encourages his team to move the ball forward much quicker, as he aims to strike a balance between utilizing his players’ technical quality while being pragmatic with the realities of a newly-promoted team. Generally speaking, Cooper’s team aims to keep a solid shape without the ball, before springing attacks with their talented wide players.
Match tickets
This Premier League encounter is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 10 November 2024 and it all kicks off at 3 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on each club’s website with season ticket holders and club members getting priority consideration.
Old Trafford is the venue for this fixture and the iconic stadium is set to admit close to its 74,000 capacity for Leicester’s visit. Given their respective starts to the campaign, both teams will feel like they can take maximum points from this, so it should be an open game.
Hence, an exciting matchup awaits and those planning to attend the game must purchase their tickets well ahead of time. Supporters who are looking for Manchester United vs Leicester City tickets can find them on a resale site.
Team news
Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Victor Lindelof are yet to feature for United this season while Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo went off injured against Tottenham. They will hope to have some of these names available against the Foxes.
For Leicester, ankle injuries have played a huge part in their team news with Jannik Vestergaard still out having missed three league games already, while Patson Daka is yet to play this term due to an ankle issue. Backup goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk is also missing with a foot problem.
Line-ups
Ten Hag has a stronger team at his disposal this term and he must make that extra quality count against Leicester.
Finding the back of the net is a growing concern and United would be keen to take their chances when they present themselves. Thus, the team will be looking forward to Rasmus Hojlund providing the cutting edge once he regains full fitness.
Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
They may have come straight from the Championship but Leicester have enough players with Premier League experience across their ranks.
Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks form a double pivot that gives them a balanced midfield platform to go on and attack opponents. Wilfred Ndidi is revitalized in an attacking midfield role as he already bagged four assists this season, then there is the considerable goalscoring threat of the evergreen Jamie Vardy up top.
Leicester City: Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Skipp, Winks; Ayew, Ndidi, Mavididi; Vardy
Prediction
Leicester are winless in 14 away Premier League games since a 4-2 win at Aston Villa in February 2023, so it is a daunting task to end that streak at Old Trafford. Of course, it will be easier to break their unlucky run before the trip to Old Trafford so as to go there without pressure.
For United, this is a must-win scenario after they suffered consecutive 3-0 league defeats in front of their home fans. The heavy scrutiny on Ten Hag will continue and if United keep up their poor form, the chances of the Dutchman being in charge against Leicester are slim.
Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City