Football
Manchester United vs Leicester Preview, Prediction, Team News And Predicted Lineups
Fresh off the back of sacking Erik ten Hag, Manchester United host Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and we’ve got the latest in terms of team news and predicted lineups, as well as a prediction in our preview.
Manchester United vs Leicester Preview
Wednesday evening’s Carabao Cup fourth round action sees Manchester United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford, with the Red Devils coming into the tie having confirmed the departure of first-team manager Erik ten Hag on Monday.
United fell to a disappointing late 2-1 defeat to West Ham at the weekend, which was seemingly the final straw for Ten Hag, and they now have just one victory across their last eight matches in all competitions.
Back to Old Trafford on Wednesday night 🔴#MUFC || #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/Lz9SvXnzKG
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 29, 2024
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined the Red Devils as Ten Hag’s assistant in the summer, has been appointed interim manager and will take charge of United’s upcoming fixtures, although it is heavily rumoured that the club are in talks with Sporting manager Ruben Amorim over the permanent role.
To get to this stage of the Carabao Cup, Manchester United comfortably beat Barnsley 7-0 in the third round, while Leicester beat Tranmere 4-0 in round two and Walsall on penalties in round three.
Steve Cooper’s Foxes head into midweek action off the back of a 3-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest last Friday, which leaves them five points clear of the relegation zone in 15th. Prior to the Forest loss, the East Midlands outfit recorded back-to-back league victories against Bournemouth and Southampton.
Wednesday’s clash will be the first meeting between the pair since the season Leicester suffered relegation from the Premier League, where Manchester United claimed 3-0 and 1-0 wins in both fixtures that term.
Manchester United Team News
The Red Devils’ injury list remains incredibly extensive heading into this one.
All of Kobbie Mainoo (thigh), Leny Yoro (foot), Harry Maguire (calf) and Antony (ankle) have been ruled out of the tie, while Luke Shaw (calf) is also unavailable after suffering another injury setback.
Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Mason Mount (knock) are also massive doubts, and so is Noussair Mazraoui after picking up a knee injury against West Ham on Sunday.
Leicester Team News
Leicester, meanwhile, are without four first-team players for the trip to Old Trafford, with Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle), Patson Daka (ankle), Victor Kristiansen (groin) and Hamza Choudhury (shoulder) ruled out through injury.
Returning from injury though, is Danish central defender Jannik Vestergaard. The 32-year-old has been suffering with an ankle problem since August, but Cooper confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that he is available for selection once again.
Manchester United vs Leicester Predicted Lineups
Manchester United Predicted Lineup:
Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Lindelof, Martinez; Casemiro, Ugarte; Diallo, Eriksen, Garnacho; Zirkzee
Leicester Predicted Lineup:
Ward; Pereira, Coady, Okoli, Thomas; Skipp, Soumare; Fatawu, Buonanotte, Decordova-Reid; Edouard
Manchester United vs Leicester Prediction
Like the UK’s best football betting sites, we at SportsCasting are heavily favouring Manchester United to come out on top and to advance to the last eight of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Van Nistelrooy will be eager to impress the United hierarchy on his managerial debut with the club to give himself the best possible opportunity of being offered the job on a permanent basis, although this now looks very unlikely with talks to land Amorim from Sporting intensifying by the hour.
Despite countless injuries and a likely-rotated lineup, we expect the Red Devils to claim a comfortable victory at Old Trafford, as they did in the 3-0 win when they last faced Leicester in February 2023.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Leicester