Manchester United return to action on Saturday, when they’ll visit Leicester City for a Premier League fixture, beginning a key stretch that will see the level of competition rise significantly. With a ton of much bigger fixtures, both domestically and in Europe, coming up fast and furious, we have to quote Atlanta hip-hop duo Outkast:
“from here on out, it only gets rougher.” Let’s see how manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, currently doing his job without the support and approval of many, if not most, of the fans, handles this all.
Manchester United at Leicester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sat Oct 16, 3pm, King Power Stadium
Early Team News: go here and also here
PL Position: Manchester United 4th, 14 pts Leicester City 13th, 8pts
Form Guide: Manchester United DLWWW Leicester City DDLLW
Odds: Manchester United 23/20 Draw 11/4 Leicester City 8/3
Solskjaer doesn’t appear to be on the hot seat, despite all the fan calls to remove him. Sir Alex Ferguson himself disagreed with the decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo.
He’ll likely be without half of his “McFred” partnership in the defensive midfield for this one, as the Brazilian has international duty, against Edinson Cavani and Uruguay no less, so expect El Matador to miss this one too.
And with the first choice central defense pairing also out injured, the rest of the first team prediction, well it just picks itself essentially.
Here we decided to give the struggling, sputtering Jadon Sancho a rest, electing to go with the returning Marcus Rashford instead.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction at Leicester City
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw; Pogba, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
He co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.