Manchester United travel to the King Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon and will be aiming to make it nine wins from 10 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and 10 unbeaten against an ever-dangerous Leicester City side.
Solskjaer’s men went from zero to hero during midweek as they trailed 2-0 to Burnley after 81 minutes at Old Trafford before demonstrating incredible character to fight back and take a point thanks to Paul Pogba’s spot-kick and Victor Lindelof’s first goal for the club.
Leicester also earned a hard-fought point in a game that they arguably should have taken all three points from at Anfield, where Harry Maguire’s first-half stoppage-time equaliser prevented Liverpool from going seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The Foxes have acted as one of United’s bogey teams on the road since their promotion to the top-flight in 2014 and have only lost once to the Red Devils in four meetings at the King Power.
United will be keen to get back to winning ways tomorrow though, and here’s who I predict will start for the visitors.
GK: David de Gea
After a miserable start to the campaign, De Gea’s form has picked up under Solskjaer and his place in the United line-up is almost guaranteed by the look of their team this season. Will he be the next to sign a new deal?
RB: Ashley Young
Club captain Antonio Valencia’s persistent injury problems have seen Young step into the spotlight this season, and we predict him to start at right-back again here.
CB: Eric Bailly
Phil Jones and Lindelof have been Solskjaer’s go-to centre-back partnership at United but the caretaker boss referred to the pace of Jamie Vardy in his press conference, so I think Bailly would be the sensible option in this one.
CB: Victor Lindelof
Lindelof’s nomination for the Premier League January Player of the Month award speaks for itself. He’s been unbelievable this season and is one of the few United players who’s places on the teamsheet are immovable right now.
LB: Luke Shaw
Solskjaer may take the opportunity to give Shaw some rest at Leicester and play Dalot, who’s been impressive going forward and at the back in recent appearances, but I have a feeling he’ll stick with his guns because of the threat of the Foxes’ attackers.
CDM: Nemanja Matic
Matic may also be given a rest for this one but his presence has been crucial under Solskjaer and will help slow the tempo down when needed.
CM: Ander Herrera
Herrera has gone about doing his role quietly, but expertly this season and is a player who rarely receives the praise he deserves.
CM: Paul Pogba
There are still questions whether Pogba will be fit after suffering a knock against Burnley, but if he’s up for it he’ll be the first name on the teamsheet. The Frenchman has 10 goals and eight assists this season, most coming in the short period Solskjaer’s been in charge, and seriously looks like one of the best in his position at the moment.
RW: Jesse Lingard
Lingard was rested against Burnley, with Juan Mata taking his place, and it was evident how much United missed his movement and creativity down the right. We predict him to start on the right here, or as a centre forward with Martial and Rashford – or Lukaku – down the channels which worked so well in the win at Arsenal.
LW: Anthony Martial
After penning a new five-year deal at the club, Martial will be desperate to get his name on the scoresheet this weekend and he has every chance of doing so if he continues to look a threatening as he has done over the past couple of months.
ST: Marcus Rashford
Who else? Lukaku has been scoring goals here and there since returning from compassionate leave at the back end of December, but Rashford just seems like the perfect frontman for Solskjaer’s system. After being named United’s January Player of the Month, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him claim the Premier League award too.